True Strength comes from the Heart
by valkan
Summary: Two months have passed since the incident on Sentinel. A new beginning awaits Jim on the Dhammerung, a passenger liner that carries people to Rim worlds at less then economy prices. Can he find what he needs to help the one he loves? Rating changed
1. A typical Day

DISCLAIMER: For starters, I would like to say that I do not own Outlaw Star. I don't own any of the characters in this story except for John. He's mine. So Bandai, and all the creaters of Outlaw Star, please don't sue me. Also I don't own the lyrics or music in 'Anthem of our dying Day', a Story of the Year song.

_True Strength comes from the Heart._

_Chapter 1: A typical Day_

"Hey Jimmy!"

The quiet rooms of the new Starwind and Hawking building were broken by the shrill sound of a high pitched voice. Jim was busy programming new protocols that Gillium could chew on when his concentration was broken by the cheery voice that could only belong to the former planet potentuary. "What is it Aisha!" Jim replied with annoyance. "I just got home and I'm bored, why don't you play some video-games with me?" she yelled ignoring his obvious annoyance. "I can't now, I'm busy programming some new programs for the job that me and Gene have taken up, and If I don't finish before tomorrow, we'll be out 70,000 wong." "Jim don't gimmie that. You know as well as I do that 10 minutes out of your time won't interfere with your work." It was Aisha's turn to be annoyed. "Fine I'll play you five matches in that fighting game of yours, but don't get mad if you lose all five!" "Ha! with my superior abilities and reflexes there's no way that you can beat me!" Aisha bellowed at the young outlaw.

It had been three years since the Leyline incident, and although considerable time has passed, little has actually changed. Gene and Melfina were very happy with each other, but they had been good to take their relationship very slowly. Gene's favorite slogan had changed from "when we make it big" to "when we make it big we'll get married and have kids." Suzuka was as stoic as ever, but about a year ago she had received a mysterious letter in the mail and decided to leave. She came back every once and awhile, but she mostly stayed away. Aisha still hadn't received the free ride from the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire that she was hoping for. Jim on the other hand was now 14, and had been lucky enough to receive a few growth spurts, he was now almost as tall as Gene. This of course only added fuel to Fred Lou's fiery desires, who continued to make advances on Jim and Gene. But all though they were better off, the happy workers of Starwind and Hawking were still flat broke.

"So, what's this new job that requires brand new software for the Outlaw Star?"

"Fred told us about a big bounty-head near Sentinel who calls himself the Doppleganger. He's wanted in three systems for grand theft, murder, kidnapping, and extortion."

"Can I see a picture of him after this match? I wanna know the face that s gonna earn me a nice cut!"

"Unfortunately Aisha, showing you a face of the Doppleganger wouldn't do you any good. You see, he is not a humanoid like the rest of us, but a special bio-mechanical organism that can inhabit and control the bodies of other people like us. So I can only show you what Doppleganger himself looks like."

Jim paused the game and walked over to his palmtop. He typed a few keys and waited, when the picture came up he showed to his female friend. "You see this is what he actually looks like."

"He looks like a worm! You mean to tell me that we gotta track down a worm thats worth Seventy thousand wong?!!"

"Well, yeah!"

"Whatever, how do we go about catching this guy if we don't know what he looks like?" She asked "I mean if he can inhabit other bodies how are we supposed to track him down?"

"Thats actually pretty simple" Jim replied with a wry smile. "We track him down in his ship! You see our friend may be a little slippery on the ground, but when he's in space he gets careless. Three days ago he stole a ship from the security forces on Tenrei. It was an experimental grappler ship with brand spankin new cloaking and sensor jamming technology."

"If it has new jamming technology how are we going to track it? And how do you know someone else hadn't already claimed the bounty?"

"Easy, if the bounty was already claimed it would already be taken off the wanted list on the Security Forces site. As for tracking him thats what the adjustments for the sensors are for. The ship and the technology may be new, but the security forces aren't giving out any other information on how to cut through the jamming waves."

"That doesn't answer my question Jimmy."

"I'm getting to it. You know how ether wave sensors work right?"

"Right I got an A in ether wave tracking in the academy."

"Well the SF may have been reluctant on giving out information on their baby, but I did a little digging in their main computer system and found out that a certain ether wave sensor frequency can't be jammed. So all we have to do is just use the modified sensors to find his ship, then we do what we do best!"

"Your such a genius Jimmy!" Aisha said ruffling his hair. "You know I gotta figure out what you eat that makes you such a smart kid!"

"Heh heh, I'm not a kid, I'm fourteen" he said pushing away her hand.

"Oh RIGHT, your a man now. The big 1-4. Well whatever you are, you still need to give me the other three matches that you promised!"

"What the hell are you talking about? OH other three matches! Okay get ready to lose!"

They went on like that. Playing, trash talking, throwing insults. Jim concluded that the sensor mods could wait and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon playing the fighting game that Aisha loved so much. She'd been telling him that he needed to relax more for three years.

"For more then three years...." he whispered.

"Did you say something Jimmy?"

"Huh? Oh no, uhh nothing. Hey look I'm gonna go take a nap, wake me when Mel finishes dinner okay?"

"Sure thing Jimmy!"

He walked slowly to his room, thinking about the past with every step. He opened his door and closed it behind him gently. He paced over to his bed and sat down. It was totally unintentional, but he suddenly found himself thinking about Hannmyo. He still remembered her very vividly; her short dark hair, agile and graceful movements, her cats, and her affinity towards having childish fun. It was a very good dream that Jim played in his mind over and over again. He kept thinking that he could've done something different, something that might have changed how things turned out. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that nothing could be different. She had stood him up, and what he should of gotten over a long time ago, only now it bothered him every single time he was having fun.

"Whatever I'm going to sleep."

"Gene keep your eyes on the road!" Melfina screamed as the sight of an incoming semi startled her.

"Sorry Mel, I got carried away." Gene said as he swerved back into normal traffic.

"Well you can talk all you want, but make sure that your eyes stay focused on your driving."

"Okay Mel, I was talking about our new bounty head. Its a guy who calls himself the Doppleganger. He's a mechanical worm that can inhabit and control the bodies of any living organism. He's managed to stay alive for an untold number of years moving from one body to the next. Because he's switched bodies every few weeks, he's become a very slippery bastard."

"That sounds dangerous. If he can body jump how are we supposed to catch him?"

"Well we got a two-part plan Mel; Jim's working on a way how we can track him in the ship he stole, and when we find him, we'll force him to land on Sentinel and that's when we use this baby on him." Gene said with confidence as he patted the gun that Fred had "loaned" him.

"Okay I got everything about how your going to catch him, but how is that gun going to allow us to catch him?"

"Actually Mel I don't know, Fred said that its some old Earth technology and had just been sitting around in his collection. He called it an EMP gun. It will either stun him or kill him, but he said it might have some sort of negative affect on you, so when we make planet-fall on Sentinel I want you on the ship where you'll be safe okay?"

"Fine Gene but promise me you won't get hurt."

"Ah Mel, you don't have to worry about me!" He said with a big grin. "I've done tons of jobs like this it's just a typical bounty-head that just managed to steal a very good SF ship. We'll be fine!" He said with confidence. "Anyway we'll be home soon, what do ya got planned for dinner honey?"

"Hawaiian chicken and beef with white rice."

"Do ya need my help?"

"No thanks Gene, you started a fire the last time you 'helped' me with dinner. I'm still trying to figure out how you managed to start a fire with cold-cuts!"

"Hey its not my fault! I burned my hand on the oven!"

"The oven wasn't on!"

"Well whatever, here we're home now. I'll go get the squirt and the food-vacuum to help with the groceries."

Gene pulled Jim's Efhrau up to the SH building and got out. He exclaimed as he opened the door in a very loud voice: "Hey Jim! Aisha! Come help get the groceries!"

"Yay! Food!" Aisha bellowed as she ran outside.

"Aisha where's Jim?" Gene asked as he was walking inside with arms filled with perishables.

"He said he wanted to take a nap."

"So? Go wake him up."

"No he's probably pretty tired so I'm gonna leave him alone."

"Well the sooner we can get these groceries in the sooner we can get dinner ready."

"Please don't tell me your working on dinner! Please don't tell me you are!"

"Ahhhhh! Everybody's makin a fuss! The fire wasn't my fault you animal!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN ANIMAL?!"

The rest of the evening was spent talking, eating, and going over the plan. Jim had woken up on his own and quickly eaten his food so he could continue working on the sensor modifications while Aisha continued to gorge herself on Melfina's cooking, Gene and Mel decided to take a walk to get some more 'alone time'. Even though Gene didn't say it, he was very anxious about tomorrow. He wanted to make sure that he and Mel spent some time together just in case something bad did happen.

_The stars will cry, The Blackest tears tonight! _

_And this is the moment that I live for,_

_I can smell the ocean air!_

_Here I am, pouring my heart unto these rooftops!_

_Just a ghost to the world, thats exactly..._

_Exactly what I need!_

_From up here the city lights burn, _

_Like a thousand miles of fire,_

_And I'm here to sing this Anthem,_

_Of Our Dying Day!_

John looked looked out the window of the ship to look at sentinel. It had been two weeks since he had approached by a ctarl-ctarl middle aged man about a 'job'. He was told to wait to in the sentinel system tell the XGP intercepted him. The old-Earth music that he had been listening to had not help his mood as much as he wanted it to, in fact none of the old music he listened to made him feel any better. The old music used to make him feel better, but lately all it did was bring up bad memories.

"Oh well, no amount of money would be able to get me what this guy can give me." He said to no one in particular. He turned the music off, and went over the plan again mentally.

The plan would be a simple one, he would simply antagonize the crewmembers of the XGP, harass the ctarl-ctarl girl, and leave the rest to fate. Hopefully, God would give him what he has wanted for so long.

Death.

Chapter 1: End

Okay guys and gals, how did you like the first chapter? Just so you know this story is going to be pretty long. You can expect Chapter 2 in a few weeks or so. I thought it was good, but that leads me the best thing about fanfiction besides writing it and reading it. The comments. To those who actually read my first entry in to fanfictiondom, can you please take the time to review it? Flamers will be ignored, constructive criticism will be noted. Thanks!


	2. Assembling the Pieces

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Outlaw Star or any of the characters. I own lots of shiny things, and lots-o-CD's but no Outlaw Star. Don's mine. And without further wasting-of-your-time I give you:_

_Chapter 2: Assembling the pieces_

Jim woke up at 8:00 am. He didn't think that he would ever finish the mods on the sensors last night because of the throw-down that took place yesterday afternoon. He had worked till midnight, and he was exhausted for typing for so long. His hands ached with with every little motion, but Jim woke up in a good mood knowing that he would soon be eating some some real food with lots of beef. Not one to knock Melfina's cooking, its that it was good to give her a break every once in awhile. Plus it would give him a chance to check out some of the new waitresses at the _Sylverant_; a brand new restaurant that opened downtown.

"If the job goes well…"

"Huh? did you say something Jimmy?" Aisha said poking her head inside his room.

"Hmm? Oh nothing just talking to myself." He mumbled. "Hey what are you doin up so early? You usually sleep in till Mel has breakfast ready!"

"I got up early to wake you up. I thought since you were working so late, that you would have trouble waking up, but I guess you didn't need my help anyway."

"I don't need help to wake up. You forget that I had to wake up Gene long before we got the Outlaw Star. Besides we-"

Jim was about to say more when he noticed that Aisha had not been waring her typical green empire uniform and had opted for much more casual and revealing t-shirt and panties. Upon noticing this, Jim's face quickly turned a light shade of red. He quickly averted his eyes and shifted positions when he felt a stirring in his loins, for to let Aisha notice his 'problem' would let himself be victim to days of ridicule on the Outlaw Star.

"Jimmy? What's wrong? You look a little sick." She said walking to his bed.

"Huh? Oh its just that I s-s-sat up t-to fast and the blood's rushing to my head. Nothing to worry about!"

Jim cursed himself for stuttering, and wondered if Aisha had seen through his lie.

"You sure? I know a Ctarl-Ctarl soup recipe thats said to cure any and all illnesses in the galaxy."

He mentally winced at the thought of any kind of Ctarl-Ctarl cuisine.

"No I'm fine. I just need a glass of water."

"Oh okay, as long as your alright I'll just go wake up The Idiot and Mel. See ya at breakfast!"

Aisha turned around and walked out of his room and shut his door. Jim immediately got out of bed and changed into a pair of clean work clothes. He then waited until he was sure she was out of earshot, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close." He said to himself as he ran a hand through his unkempt hair.

Aisha giggled to herself as she walked away from Jim's room. Jim's reaction was priceless because it was so rare. Although she had planned on waking him up, she hadn't expected him to already be awake. She also hadn't expected him to react in such a way to her choice of clothing. He had tried to quickly play it off, and he looked extremely cute while doing so, but the damage was already done. She giggled again as she entered the bathroom and filled a rather large cup with cold tap water.

"Well this mornings fun has just begun." She said entering Gene and Melfina's room.

"Thats the way your supposed to live! With LOTS-O-MONEY!" Gene mumbled in his sleep. He was dreaming that he, Mel, and Jimmy had finally made it big, and were living like kings in the largest palace in the galaxy. Visions of gold and whisky bottles were piled high as offerings to the greatest outlaw that ever lived.

"Jimmy don't you think its time to feed the cat?" Gene asked as he was inspecting the latest offering.

"Oh right King Gene, I completely forgot about that as I was counting your gold-mountain. I'll get started right away."

"Ha ha ha, Jimmy just remember that you don't need to think of work all the time! Remember to have fun!"

"Yes your majesty, but I still need to feed her." A wisp of smoke disappears as a young ctarl-ctarl is revealed to be grinning stupidly. Jim goes to a side chamber and hastily returns with large bag of cat food.

"Your in luck today Aisha! I got you Meow Mix!" He said as he poured the cat-food into a gigantic bowl. "Eat up! I got it just for you!"

She quickly devoured all the cat food in record time. Looking satisfied, she promptly begun to lick her fingers. Jim, content with another job well done, decided to continue counting Gene's gold mountain. He was halfway across the room when he was tackled and licked in the face by a hyperactive cat-girl.

"Gene, get her off me! Her breath smells horrible!"

Upon seeing this display, Gene just laughed deep laugh that only a king could. "Jimmy thats how cats show their love to their owners, she won't hurt you!" Gene laughed again and looked to his right to see a happy (and ahem well endowed) Melfina. She looked up to him and said: "Gene if you're going out today, be sure to watch out for pirates."

"I'll be fine Mel. Well anyway I gotta go, watch the house while I'm gone okay?"

"Look here comes a pirate now!"

Melfina is startled by a chinese man walking into their treasure room. He's wearing a newspaper hat and overalls, and he has a peg-leg and a large mustache. Gene quickly reacts by pulling out his caster. "Don't worry Mel I'll protect you!" he said loading a number 3 shell. He was pulling the trigger when everything seemed to disappear as he felt a-

SPLASH

Aisha had been in Gene's room and had seen the stupid grin on his face. She could only guess he was dreaming about making it big. Well whatever he was dreaming about, he needed to get up, and Aisha made sure of that! She dumped the large cup of water on Gene and was rewarded by a rather humorous display: Gene had spasmed then screamed the word 'PIRATES!' and followed that with a roll onto the floor with a loud 'thump'.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN ON!!!!" Gene screamed as he suddenly realized where he was. His palace and his gold and whisky had been replaced with the humble interior of the S&H building. He looked around frantically to see who was about to die. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Aisha rolling on the floor and laughing hysterically.

"AISHA YOU DAMN ANIMAL YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT WITH YOUR CTARL-CTARL BLOOD!!!!"

The rest of the morning was spent with Gene and Aisha screaming and chasing each other. A few moments of peace were enjoyed when Mel finished making breakfast. Melfina had decided since they were leaving, that it would probably be best that a quick breakfast was in order. She prepared bowls of oatmeal and toast for everyone, with extra servings for Aisha. She thought that since they were having such a bland breakfast that they would be disappointed. Not so.

"Hey Mel, how do you make your food taste sooo good?" A ravenous Aisha said between bites.

"Its simple!" she replied with a smile. "First I think about how much I love my family here. You know, Gene, Jim and you Aisha. Then I picture the food I want to make, and then it just comes!"

Jim entered the kitchen just as he heard the end of Melfina's answer. He quickly sat down and begun to eat his breakfast, also making sure that he took a seat far away from Aisha, who he still hoped had not seen him embarrass himself in his room.

"Jim did you sleep well last night? I know you were up pretty late trying to finish your work."

"Actually I did Mel. Thanks for asking." Jim replied with a big grin.

"Bye the way Jim, did you actually finished the senthor mod dealiez?" Gene asked with a mouthful of oatmeal.

"You know me Gene, I don't stop working till the job's finished!" Jim exclaimed with a thumbs-up and a large grin.

"Awesome! I don't know what I would do without ya kiddo." Gene said rubbing his hands in Jim's hair.

"You'd chase after women, incur MASSIVE amounts of debt, and trash the Outlaw Star."

Gene only laughed at Jim's harsh reply as he finished the last of his oatmeal. He quickly kissed and thanked Melfina for another home-cooked and delicious meal. Jim only scoffed at this, and was promptly hit in the face by a piece of toast. "Hey what did I-" he was cut off by a question from Gene.

"Has anyone called us lately Jim?"

"No no one called" Jim said forgetting the toast piece that just hit him. "As far as I'm concerned, all the loose ends have been tied up and we're ready to go."

"Alright Jim, then lets head to the spaceport and load up the Outlaw Star.

"Uhhhhh"

"Come on Jim! Don't just sit there! We have a bounty to catch!"

John looked down at his watch. Despite it being a dragonite enhanced atomic clock, which was accurate to the rotations of the galaxy (which meant it was perfect at keeping time) John couldn't help but notice that it was off by a billionth of a second. The dealer that he had bought it from had assured him that it was the made by the famous Old-Earth scientist Heinrich Gustovv, which meant that it was the most accurate timepiece in the galaxy. After examining it closely he realized that it was just a very good counterfeit copy. He would make sure the dealer would pay dearly for cheating him out of 30,000 wong.

But his anger quickly subsided as he was aware of what time it was. He was called by his contact a day before and was assured that his 'saviors' should be leaving at about 12:00 PM Earth Federation standard time.

"Cyrus" John said looking at his watch.

"Yes John?" His personal A.I. replied.

"Do you remember what our employer said we should expect the XGP?"

"In three standard days sir."

"Damn. I can't wait that long. Say Cyrus, how about we do something constructive to pass the time?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea sir."

"I'm glad you share my enthusiasm. Prepare to make planet-fall!"

Managing the consoles had been relatively easy since Don got his new job at West Virginia Spaceport. He had spent the last three months as a wanna-be bounty hunter. He had run out on his old man out of pure disgust and just an overwhelming urge to make it on his own. His dad was the lowest of the low. 15 years ago he had forced his mother to divorce him because of his drinking problems and also because of his tendency to be very abusive. After fifteen years of putting up with his shit, he gathered what little money he had, and decided to move from his humble hell-hole of a town, to the small but prosperous city of Locus.

"Humph. I had mad so many promises and threats, called dad the worst names and curses in two languages..... had even threatened him. I said that I didn't need him and stormed out a there as fast as I could. Now look at me 7 months down the road and I got debt out the ass."

Don sighed. Working at the spaceport sounded good on paper, but the actual job only turned out to be extremely tedious and boring. He could still remember the want add.

"Are you tired of a dead-end job?

Are you tired of that boring old town that you hail from?

Are you a normal guy or gal that wants a little excitement?

Then come on down to West Virginia Space port!

West Virginia Spaceport is looking to hire thousands of new workers to help expand its docks. If you get hired, you can get the chance to work with space ships. Thats right! So come on! The galaxy needs you!"

What a load of total bullshit. In just the first few days of being hired, Don quickly realized that no one ever comes to Sentinel. The only excitement to come to Sentinel, came two and a half years before Don got a job at the port. He still remembered from the news how some idiot had gotten himself tangled up with the Kei Pirates and hadn't been seen since. Nothing else happened. Nevertheless, a job's a job.

"This is First Officer of the SF ship, _kyubi,_ requesting Docking clearance. Over." The radio crackled.

"Hmm? Looks like it'll be an interesting day afterall." Don said to himself.

Chapter 2: End

_Hey guys thats the end of the second chapter! To those of you who were mortified by the dream that I made Gene have. Look all I did was think WWGDA (What Would Gene Dream About?) Well after careful consideration and thinking about the show, he would dream about money women and booze. So there ya go!_

_:D_

_And another thing, I would like to express my deepest thanks to those of you who reviewed my first official entry into fanfictiondom. _

_Thank you Nikkler, Thank you Breakaway-Republic (I'm a fan of your work by the way), Thank you Macky, Thank you Love-Hate, and finally Thank you Milk-Toast._

_I put up chapter 2 pretty fast because I'm going to be starting college again very soon, so you should expect Chapter 3 in like 2-5 weeks depending on how much work I have. Also I need some ideas for some Old-Earth music (by that I mean, I need some music from our day and age. E-mail me the name of the song and the lyrics, because I want to put it in the next few chapters. Until next time_

_w00t_


	3. Chicken with a side of PWNED

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Outlaw Star or any of its characters. Don, Cyrus, and John are mine. (Because I made them. Duh) _

_Got a real treat for you guys this time. I had to get the previous chapter out really fast because I started school on the 18th, but I still had time to work on this. Which is why it was so short. This is chapter 3. It is much longer then the last one so without any more author note crap, here his chapter 3 of TTCFTH._

Chapter 3: Chicken with a side of mash potatoes and PWNED

John could not believe that his fictitious name and designation actually worked. Not once did it occur to mission control to actually check the fake OSS signal coming from the Kyubi. They actually gave him docking clearance to dock 12. The good people of West Virginia Spaceport would pay dearly for that careless mistake. He had been alive for a long time and it still surprised him how humans can be so incredibly stupid.

"Cyrus, go to combat Alert, open the missile doors, and take the safeties off the main laser guns."

"Of course sir, but may I ask why? We are docked, I do not detect any immediate threats in the area."

"Its simple we're gonna have some fun."

"I can only guess that you are going to do something very reckless sir."

"Of course! Is everything ready?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright then! Target the main control tower and fire!"

"Don you alright?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah I'm fine, I just got a really bad feeling just now." Bad feeling was an understatement. Despite the fact that he was working with several others, it had felt like everyone in the room had just vanished, or left leaving only there clothes or there coffee mugs. It is the kind of feeling that is similar to claustrophobia or fear of heights. To feel alone and isolated and not knowing why. Your chest tightens and your breathing quickens, also one would begin to sweat uncontrollably. He had experienced this feeling only once before, when he tried running away to one of his friends' house six years ago. His dad had gone on another of his drunken rampages, and instead of staying at the house, Don decided to hightail it outta there. He remembered actually _dreaming_ that dad would find him and kill him in his sleep. His dad actually came _one_ day later and drug him home and beat him until he was unconscious. Growing up in a house like that made him trust his instincts _more, so_ he needed to get out of that room and gets some air _now._

"Hey boss, I've been working for 4 hours now, is it alright if I take a fifteen minute break?" He asked after a few moments in thought.

"Sure thing Don, go and take your break then come right back." His boss said in an unusually cheery voice.

"Thanks boss"

He exited the console room and walked down one of the long hallways leading to the registration and customs offices. He walked into one of the waiting rooms and onto the balcony that gave you a pretty good view of the surrounding docks where the ships would land. Maybe a smoke would calm his nerves. He reached down to his side pocket to pull out his ciggs and was about to light them, when the tower's alarm sounded.

He realized too late the danger he was in, as an explosion rocked the tower. The last thing he remembered was being struck by something large and heavy, then nothing.

"Gene! Quit stalling and call your bet already!" Jim said fuming at Gene's obvious attempt at delaying the inevitable. "Gene come on! You've been looking at your cards for like five minutes now. What's the holdup?"

"I'm thinking Jim!"

"Gene? Thinking? Wow that's a new one." Aisha said looking up from her gameboy.

"Excuse me Gene, but we are entering Sentinel Airspace." Gillium interrupted.

"Great! Looks like we'll have to finish this match some other time Jim!"

"Dammit Gene!" Jim said frustrated by Gallium's impeccable timing.

Everyone dropped what they were doing and headed for the bridge of the XGP. Even pushing the engines at full, they were disappointed to get to Sentinel later then they hoped expected. It had taken them at least three and a half days when Mel promised them two. It took them three jumps to make it to the system, and on the second jump, they had a problem with the number two engine, and they had to spend the latter half of the second day repairing it. At least it did not take them a week, Gene hoped that they were not too late.

"Hey Mel, how long till we get to Sentinel?"

"Less then 15 minutes Gene." Melfina replied

"Alright good. We're making pretty good time despite the fact we hit that little snag a day ago."

Gene took his seat in his chair. In a little bit, they would be tracking a bounty worth 70,000 Wong and an additional 100,000 Wong if he managed to bring the stolen ship back in one piece.

"I hope that whatever Jim has it will help us catch our guy quickly so we can be home in time for dinner!" Gene bellowed as he propped his feet up on the console.

"Of course I'll come through Gene!" Jim said as he entered the bridge. "Mel we'll be there soon right?"

"In a few minutes Jim." Melfina said with a smile.

"Hey Jim?" Gene asked, "tell me again how we are supposed to track this guy, I mean he is invisible to conventional sensors."

"Okay Gene, I'm gonna answer your question, but this is the last time. You know how ether wave sensors work right?"

"Right, similar to conventional radar. But you told me his ship is invisible to that."

"I'm getting to it Gene. Well just like conventional radar and sonar, there are actually different frequencies in those two detection methods. The same thing holds true for ether waves. The thing is, there's a certain frequency that actually gives off an extra signature that would go unnoticed by people not looking for it."

"Okay, but how are we supposed to detect this extra signature?"

"By listening."

"That makes no sense Jim! Space does not carry sound! Everyone knows that!"

"On a normal day I would agree with you. But this is a special case!" Jim replied with a big grin. "When radar waves and ether waves hit objects in space and bounce back they actually carry unique sound that is too low for any race too hear, but the ship that Doppleganger stole actually amplifies its own sound. It becomes just high enough so that a Ctarl-Ctarl might hear."

"Urrgghh! Speak in English Jim!"

"We get Aisha to listen on her console while we keep as quiet as we can."

"See now wasn't that easier Jim?"

"Not really."

"Gene?" Melfina interrupted "We're entering Sentinel 3 airspace." As if on cue, the small and dull look of Sentinel-3 came into view.

"Nice! Say Jim when was the last time we were at Sentinel?"

"The last time we were here was when I had to bail you outta jail because of the ruckus we caused at West Virginia Spaceport."

"Huh? Oh right, now I remember! They shouldn't have taken me to jail when I broke no laws!"

"Well according to them you-" Jim was cut off by the beeping sound of an incoming call. "Hey Gene someone's calling us from the surface, should we take it?"

"Yeah Jim, but I can only guess who it could be."

The look on Gene's face was easy to read. Jim noticed Gene's expression was full of pride and joy. It's the kind of look that only Gene when he expected something big. Imagine his surprise when the dull look of Sentinel 3 changed to a man with long black hair and ambiguous voice.

"Gene! It's been soo long. Even though its been only 3 days it seems like forever since I last talked to you!"

The air of the Outlaw Star seemed to feel a lot colder and more awkward with sudden appearance of Fred Lou.

"Hey Fred, uh what are you doing out here?"

"Its simple Gene, I'm here out on business with my dad, he wanted to supervise the renovation of our Sentinel office, and I'm here because I want to make sure you get the job done."

"Thanks Fred, but we really don't need any help to capture a bounty."

"Not so Gene, it just so happens that I have some information for you!"

Jim cringed at the sound of 'you'. Even after all the years dealing with Fred, he just couldn't stand the way Fred's 'chosen lifestyle'. It got to him even more that he was so open and overt about it. His only hope to avoid his advances was to slump in his seat and hope that Fred wouldn't notice him. Too late.

"Jim! You're looking better every time I see you!" He slumped even further upon hearing this.

"Whatever Fred get to the information already! We don't have all day!"

"Fine, back to business, about that information. I got here just a little bit before you did, I set down on West Virginia Spaceport and it's a mess! Some crazy guy fired some missiles at the control tower. It was bad, and they are still clearing away the rubble even today, they still don't have an exact number on all those who died. The authorities are saying it was a terrorist attack but the person responsible has made no demands. Here I'm sending you some photographs of the ship that made the attack."

The screen changed slightly as the video feed of Fred was minimized while a new picture of a ship was put in the foreground. The air left the room as the crew of the XGP was looking at the outline of a very familiar ship.

"That's the Kyubi! The ship Doppleganger stole!" Jim said eyes wide.

"Bingo! I knew you'd recognize it! Well anyway my sources are telling me that the there were no other ether drive signatures except for yours when you entered the system, so your man should still be in the area. Other then that, I am afraid there's nothing more I can do for you. I wish I could be more helpful."

"That's all right Fred, you've helped more then enough."

"Well come to my place when your done to pay me personally for the excellent information Gene!"

"Ha ha, no thanks. I've got other plans." He said looking at Melfina.

"Well you can't hurt a guy for trying. Till next time Gene and Jim!" He said cheerfully, then looked towards the other bridge occupants "Aisha and Melfina" he said with little enthusiasm. The monitor went back to the sight of Sentinel 3 a second later. Jim breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when he noticed how surprisingly quiet it was on the bridge. He looked around and noticed Aisha deep in thought. He was about to ask when Gene suddenly spoke.

"Alright everyone lets get started! Jim you and Aisha get everything set up,"

He decided to leave it alone for now."Okay Gene, Hey Gillium! I need you to cut the engine output by 65 percent. I also want you to turn off all unnecessary systems. I want everyone else to be as quiet as possible! Aisha we are going to need your ears so I need you to man your console and start listening in. You're the only one who can do this so we're counting on you."

"Just leave it to me Jim!" She said. "But what am I supposed to be listening for?"

"You'll be listening for this. Gillium play back recording A-6 on the ships speakers."

"Of course Jim, one moment please."

A few seconds passed and no sound came. Gene frustrated by this spoke up, "Jim what the hell? I can't hear anything!"

"You shouldn't be able to, but I think Aisha does."

"That's right I can!" Aisha bellowed " That's the sound of ether waves, if you were to amplify their sound in an atmosphere. My ears are the best in the galaxy Gene!"

"Figures that an animal would hear something like that" he mumbled "a wonder what would happen if I get a dog whistle and blow as hard as I could?"

"I'd claw you to bits, and don't call me an animal."

"That's enough! Stop it you two! We need to hurry up and get started! Here Aisha this is the sound you need to be listening for. Gillium! Play back sound file A-8 over the speakers like the other one."

"One moment please." the ship's AI replied

"So I just have to listen for this sound?"

"That's right Aisha, but the actual sound might sound a little different," he said dryly. "However you know what kind of sound you should be listening for so it should be no problem!" He said with a thumbs-up.

"It looks like you guys are done, Mel you ready?"

"Yes Gene, but if we get into a fight don't push the engines to hard, you might damage the Number two further."

"Noted alright everyone, lets get this party started!"

John was looking around at the dilapidated shell that used to be the main control tower. Firing the missiles at the tower had been unnecessary, but he'd hoped that the outlaws would not loose interest in a guy who only hid in space. Moreover, just as he had expected, the authorities had arrived on time. He had made short work of them too. It's so sad how humanity was so spineless and moronic. Seeing the danger they were in should have made them call in the SF instead of the local police and security. He'd also seen them create an emergency control center to deal with any incoming ships, but so far since yesterday, only one ship came. He recognized it as a merchant ship owned by the Lou family. He thought for a moment; the current head of the family had a son who was known for being ambiguously gay. Perhaps if the outlaws fail to kill John, he would use kid Lou to get him a substantial amount of money. He didn't like the thought of kidnapping Lou, but being alive as long as he has made him not care about simple things such as right and wrong. He had once valued righteousness over fun long ago, when he was still getting used to his 'gift'. Nevertheless, simple acts of saving people hadn't done much to change his opinion of all sentient races in the galaxy. They continued to be greedy and selfish. Even in one of the border war disputes with the Ctarl-Ctarl that general humanity would not learn its lesson.

Ctarl-Ctarls claimed to be invincible, but even Ctarl-Ctarls cannot stand up to the vacuum of space. The humans in charge at the time seized an opportunity that cost the Bene' Bene' fleet (the strong right arm of the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire) hundreds of ships at the battle of Chiron border war over 150 years ago. He was there of course; piloting his own ship and helped kill thousands of Ctarl-Ctarl. The humans were led by Admiral Stanforth M. Loklier, and the Ctarl-Ctarls were led by High Commander Sarome' Dita Dita. She was known for her brash decisions and reckless disregard for the safety of her fleet. She was also known for the deadly mistake of underestimating ones enemy. Her and the fleet were ambushed in the airspace around Chiron 2. She had dismissed it as a worthless human effort to catch them off guard. However, Admiral Loklier was much too crafty to use a simple ambush tactic. In the surrounding nebulae in the system, Loklier had hidden a large section of his fleet. When it seemed like it would be an easy victory for the Ctarl Ctarl, Loklier ordered his other units to flank and bombard Sarome's fleet with everything they had. It had happened so fast that the Ctarl-Ctarl fleet had no time to react. The Admiral, not one to let opportunity slip by, completely decimated Sarome's fleet. He decided to spare her flagship and several others, although not without leaving them battered and crippled. Adding insult to humiliation, he sent her back crawling to the Empire's homeworld with a message:

"**The planets near the border of Chiron and Epsilon belong to us, if you want to take them from us, don't send any more incompetent commanders to fight us, they will find their place in floating derelicts among the stars." **

Instead of mounting an immediate counterattack against the forces at Chiron, High Command sentenced Sarome' Dita Dita to death and branded her family with the mark of shame, then exiled them. The Empire would go on to lose several more battles and win one. In the end, The Ctarl-Ctarl Empire decided that so many losses were not worth the humiliation, and offered the Admiral an armistice. Fighting in the region soon ended after that, and The Empire learned a valuable lesson: never underestimate your opponents or humanity. (Although their history books would tell you otherwise)

His little piloting escapade had given him the opportunity to see the amazing valor and determination of his former race first hand, it filled him with a sense of pride that he had not felt for hundreds of years. He would've felt a flicker of hope for humanity if he had not traveled back to some of the core worlds. John had seen that, despite many of their own kind had died, they rejoiced little, and already began to make plans to take advantage of the Epsilon and Chiron's rich dragonite deposits. Until before the war, he only took bodies from the bottom of the totem pole, whom had no hope or were sentenced to death. Now, he didn't care which bodies he took. He found humanity to be despicable and lowly, and the Ctarl-Ctarl were no better. Although both sides in the immediate fighting were fighting desperately for normal people to have better chances at life, the ones in charge only wanted the worlds for profit.

But soon, he would be free from all that. He would soon be free from taking bodies and killing; he would be free from seeing the underbelly of humanity and the Ctarl-Ctarl; he'd be free from a doomed existence of immortality. But not without a cool ending though.

His thoughts were interrupted by the bland sound of his personal AI. "John? The Outlaws have arrived and have begun scanning the immediate area, it will not be hard for them to find me if they have the correct information."

"Good" he replied with a smile.

He wondered how his AI would handle combat without his assistance. Would he fail or put up a good fight? "No," he said out loud. Cyrus is the most advanced AI in the galaxy, he built him himself. However he is still no match against human opponents who are battle hardened. He felt bad about wasting his AI in such a way, but it couldn't be helped.

"Ughhhh....."

John turned around to hear a moaning sound that seemed to come from a rock not to far from where he was standing. Had there been survivors? Not likely. The missiles should have killed everyone in the tower. Placing special emphasis on the words 'should have', John walked over to the piece of rubble and lifted it out of the way. To his surprise there was a survivor; a young man that couldn't be older then maybe 17 or 18. He was hurt pretty bad, and from the looks of it, he had a few broken bones and a mild concussion, but he would definitely live.

"Help me...." he said weakly. John looked down at him and considered helping. Without a word he removed the rest of the rubble blocking his body. He finally spoke as he sat down next to where he was laying, "say kid what's your name?"

"Don" he said weakly

"Don? Humph simple name. Well Don, the paramedics should be arriving shortly. I know your hurting bad, but you should live."

"I wish I had died..." he mumbled quietly.

"Then you and I have a lot in common."

Gene looked up at Sentinel. They had been searching high and low for forty-five minutes, and still no luck. He realized these things needed time, just not this much time! He was no good at hunting down bounties! If it was up to him, he would call that coward out and kick the crap out of him. Then he and Mel would go to the _Sylverant _and have a big dinner with lots of beef. (And extra ice cream for Melfina) His thoughts drifted; Mel had come a long way from the timid scared girl that he had unlocked from a box less then three years ago. She was now much more open, talkative, and brave. She had grown so much, that making wisecracks about Gene 'helping' in the kitchen became common practice. He had not taken offense to her newfound sense of humor, but instead found himself loving her even more. Gene turned around and looked at Melfina and smiled. He didn't want to talk, because Aisha needed as much quiet as possible. She simply smiled back her beautiful smile. It was the kind of smile that made you feel at ease, no matter the time or situation. He turned around and looked back at Sentinel. _ There'd be plenty of that later. Right now we need to get back on task._

Aisha noticed the way Gene was smiling at Melfina and silently sighed. Gene was a moron and a pervert, but at least he loved Melfina, and she loved him. For a moment she let her mind wander, would she ever experience what they had? _Not anytime soon _she thought. With that she unconsciously started rubbing Jim' s hair. _Hmm? Jim's hair? _Jim may not have been facing her, but he crossed his arms as if to say 'stop that'. He always did that whenever she rubbed his hair. _You know? I wouldn't have thought it possible, but he's grown up a lot over the last three years. _He still worked the most at Starwind & Hawking, but he was more conscious about having fun. He didn't play videogames as much as she did, but he totally schooled her in Soul Calibur 3000. When did he ever find time to practice? She practiced all the time and he still beat her four out of five times! For a human who was only a computer whiz he was surprisingly good at reading and reacting to his opponents moves. If he had been born a Ctarl-Ctarl, the Empire would have recognized him early and made him part of the Emperor's _Guri Guri _, a select few that were trained all there lives to be the protectors of the capital. If he wanted to, he would be given the honor of High Commander, and would be given his own fleet. Not bad for a boy genius. _But he was a human. _But she didn't care. If he had been born a Ctarl-Ctarl he would be unapproachable, given the status of the elite, only few people in the Emperor's immediate circle would be allowed to talk to him, let alone marry.

_Wait a second! Marry? JIM? Little Jimmy?!! _

The thought hit her mind so suddenly. She couldn't marry Jim! Sure he was handsome, he was also thoughtful and a genius. He was an expert at finances, a gentlemen, and to top it all off, a fighter if need be. As far as she was concerned, he was perfect. In _every _way. Maybe a little too perfect. He deserved better then this. He deserved someone who could love him, and cherish him, and.....

_Protect him? _

What seemed like a far-fetched idea was now becoming more feasible with every passing thought. _But father would never approve._ 'He' wanted her to marry a strong brash military commander who was battle hardened and rich. He would never approve or even acknowledge a marriage with a _human. _

_Well? Tough shit. I don't need daddy's blessing. _

She turned around again to look at Jim. It looked like he was typing but it was very quiet for typing. She looked closer; he wasn't using the keyboard normally, something was on top of it that muted the sound. _Amazing he thought of everything._ He stopped and turned around and grinned. He then gave a thumbs up and went back to his work. Aisha smiled back. _I guess its about time I got back to work too._

Aisha listened more intensively. The sound she had been listening to was a low thumping sound, very similar to a heartbeat, but much _lower._ It 'beats' 45 times every minute. Periodically it would change to a slightly different sound when an object in space floated past the Outlaw star, but otherwise it was pretty quiet. If there was anyone in orbit around Sentinel-3 she would know.

**Thump...Thump....Thump...**

"Hmm?" She said sitting up. Something is different, this is strange. She motioned for Gene to look back at a particular spot.

**Thump...Thump....Thump...**

She focused on the sound.

**Thump...Thump....Thump...PING!**

"Thats it! Thats the Kyubi! 200 kilometers 3:00 high!" She declared triumphantly.

"I knew you could do it Aisha!" Jim said smiling.

"Well looks like we found a good use for those ears after all!" Gene said jokingly "Alright guys enter grappler combat mode! Jim open communication channel on all frequencies. Lets let him know we found him!"

"Right Away Gene!" he replied. He typed a few bars then gave a thumbs up.

"This is Captain Gene Starwind of the Outlaw Star! Power down your cloaking device and your weapons and prepare to be boarded!"

"John, Sir?" the radio came to life "I believe they have located me sir. What should I do?"

So they located the Kyubi. That was a lot quicker then he thought. Maybe he had underestimated the abilities of Gene Starwind and his crew. "Not bad" he said out loud

"What was that sir?" his AI asked

"Hmm? Oh nothing Cyrus." He replied. Now its time to start party! First he would implement the part A of his plan. "Okay Cyrus, run file execute battle command Chiron! Give them HELL!"

"Yes sir" the AI said over the radio's speaker.

"Uh oh! Missiles closing in 12:00 high!"

"Jim!" Gene yelled

"Already on it Gene firing Counter-missiles!" Jim said already in action.

The Outlaw Star quickly rotated 90 degrees left and fired its anti-missiles. They barely averted massive damage to the ships hull. This pissed Gene off IMMENSLY, the coward actually answered his threat with a volley of missiles.

"So thats how you want to play Doppleganger! All right we'll play your way! Jim what kinds of weapons should I use in this situation!"

"Use the blade and the light machine gun, and focus on the Kyubi's engines. No missiles or heavy weapons if we want that ship back in one piece!"

"Gotcha Jim! Okay Doppleganger, lets see how you like a face full of machine gun shells!"

The underbelly of the XGP was exposed as the right grappler arm reached for the light machine gun, and fired. The Kyubi, anticipating this fired its engines at maximum and avoided the hailstorm of bullets. It circled around to its port side, as if trying to attack unprotected bladed side, but Gene and the XGP were too quick; he quickly adjusted and fired his sub-ether engines to maximum and flew towards the Kyubi at full speed. It had little time to react as the left arm outstretched and left a humongous gash extending the length of the ship.

"We got him!" Gene exclaimed

"Mines detected dead ahead!" Melfina screamed with fear.

"Mines?!!" Gene screamed in surprise. He pulled right hard, there was no time to slow down, he tried to fire the right arms gun but it was too late. A single mine detonated and shook the Outlaw Star and all its occupants.

"Mel any serious damage?!!" Gene asked with desperation in his voice.

"The left arm is damaged and currently unusable! Armor plating on the stern and port sides of the ship are burned away severely! We can't take another hit like that!"

"What about his ship?" Gene asked

"Sensors show that its maneuverability is down by 45 percent! That last move was a risky one Gene!"

"Well at least we impaired him! Alright lets see how you like a piece of the 180 millimeter!"

"NO! Wait Gene, I got an idea!"

"I'm all ears Jim!" Gene replied

"Aisha, fire a missile volley, when he dodges them, thats when we try to catch him with the anchors."

"Oh I know what you're trying to do! Alright Jim we'll use your idea. Aisha, fire the missiles!"

"With pleasure!" she said with a sly smile.

The XGP shuddered as 15 missiles swarmed towards the Kyubi en force. The Kyubi reacted by firing its own anti-missiles and banking to the right. The XGP cut it off, and then fired its two anchors; the Kyubi tried to escape by firing its engines to full, but they were too damaged to escape from the Outlaw Star's anchors. The Outlaw Star, then moved to the Kyubi's stern, aimed its right gun-arm, then fired.

The Kyubi shook as its engines were punctured by thousands of armor piercing rounds, its engines flickered once, then burned out.

"We did it!" Aisha exclaimed. "That bounty is as good as ours now!"

"Damn right!" Gene replied "Hey Jim open up that channel again, I wanna talk to this guy."

"In a second Gene" he said typing. "There! When your ready."

"This Captain Gene Starwind of the Outlaw Star; surrender you have no escape."

A few seconds passed and no answer came.

"Hey, Doppleganger! Did you hear me?" He said raising his voice. "Hey Doppleganger! I'm talking to you!"

"Gene, I hate to interrupt," Gillium said suddenly "but my sensors aren't picking up any life signs on that ship."

"That can't be right." he said dryly.

"I assure you Gene, that is right."

"Then what the hell is going on around here?" Gene said scratching his head.

Everything seemed to stop when the bridge was filled with the sound of beeping. _Another incoming call_ Jim thought. It better not be Fred, this is not a good time.

"Hey Gene its-"

"I know! Go ahead and patch it through."

What happened next was what they had not expected. The image of a man appeared, he had long black hair that was neatly tied back into a pony-tail. His eyes were light-blue, which matched his blue t-shirt.

"Hello good members of the Outlaw Star. So did you like my little test? You must have, I didn't think you could best my AI that easily, but you did. Bravo." He said almost with admiration.

"You mean that we wasted good ammunition and time on an AI?!!! YOU BASTARD!!!" Gene screamed at the monitor.

Normally Jim would tell Gene to calm down, but not this time. He felt the same way, as did Melfina and Aisha.

"Don't bust a blood vessel Starwind, I wanted to see just how good you and your crew were in space combat, and you are pretty good. Don't you agree?" He asked honestly.

"Cut the bullshit, who the hell are you?"

"Frank are we? Well I've been called many things, but I suppose for the time being you can call me the Doppleganger."

"Doppleganger? Funny, I had always pictured you to be a LOT shorter. Like maybe one or two inches tall."

"So you know my true form? It doesn't matter. I've decide that I want to fight you on the ground, face to face. Meet me at the warehouse district to the south of Locus in one hour. Oh, and you can bring as many people as you want, because you won't beat me."

"YOUR DAMN RIGHT I'M GONNA FIGHT YOU ON THE GROUND!!! Jim end the transmission!"

It had gone better then he had hoped. Gene had reacted exactly like his sources had told him. He would want to come alone, but his crew members would most likely come with him anyway. They would be here very soon, and then everyone would be happy. Well not _everyone, _but him, his boss-

His boss?

Thats right, if it wasn't for his 'boss', this wouldn't be possible. He suddenly felt bad that he wouldn't get a chance to thank him personally.

"Who the hell are you?" A voice said behind him

He turned around to see that the person whom had survived the missile attack against the tower, was still there. He'd completely forgotten about him. _Did he hear that whole conversation? _It was likely to assume that he did.

"You know normally I'd kill you because you heard every single word of an conversation between mature adults, but I'm in a good mood today."

"_What _are you?" he asked

"Well, like I said over the radio, I'm called many things and I've had many faces, but lately they call me the Doppleganger." He paused for a moment, "I'm also the person responsible for what has happened here."

His eyes widened. He struggled widely and spat, "YOU? Your the one responsible for so many peoples deaths and destruction?!!"

"Yes I am." He said lowly

"You SON OF A BIT-" he never got to finish the last part. With lightning speed, John knocked him out by delivering a quick blow to the back of his head. He had every right to be upset. He even had the right to yell and to call him names. He had every right to get his revenge later.

Except he wouldn't get his revenge.

He couldn't help but feel how wrong all of this was. But he didn't care. He had ruined so many other peoples lives, what did one more matter? He turned around and started walking to where he had parked his stolen-car. Gene and his friends would be here soon, and he didn't want to be late.

**Chapter 3: End**

_Weeeeeellll, that was quite a chapter huh? I'm not gonna say its good. I'm just gonna say it was a chapter. A transition from one part of the story to the next. I'd like to once again thank all of you who have read it so far. I'd also like to thank the people who have reviewed my first two chapters. You guys rock! Seriously! Anyways, even though I said this chapter would be here in a few weeks, I couldn't stop writing it. If you guys couldn't guess already, this story is going to be a long one. It might be awhile before I upload chapter 4, so here's a preview:_

_As the members of Starwind & Hawking return to Locus, the place where Gene and Jim started their careers as outlaws years ago, it becomes increasingly apparent that this could be the most dangerous bounty they have ever faced. A man who's age is unknown, a man who isn't afraid to kill for his ambitions, a man who wants to die. They will face this man, and they will be triumphant, but not without first paying a very high price. _

_Till next time. _


	4. John

_DISCLAIMER: I own packets of mustard, I own shiny bottle-caps, and I own a Masamune Shirow calendar, but I don't own Outlaw Star. (or the song in this chapter). _

_Okay Outlaw Star Fans! I've been working really hard on getting this chapter out while you and I still have interest! I know its long, but I wanted it to be a suitable ending for the first part of my story. The chapter is long enough, so I won't waste anymore of your time. So here it is:D_

Chapter 4: John

It was quiet on the bridge of the Outlaw Star as everyone was still trying to decide on the next course of action. Jim was dumbstruck, he could not believe that they had been fighting an AI. He thought for a moment, he had never heard of AI's controlling full-sized ships like the Kyubi and fighting so well. The trick with the mines had taken them all by surprise and a considerable amount of the bounty would have to be used to get the Outlaw Star repaired. Nevertheless, whatever Jim was feeling would be nothing to what Gene is feeling; he was fuming. _To him _he thought,_ it must be humiliating. _Getting the Outlaw Star damaged like this is routine, but the fact that Doppleganger used such an unbecoming tactic on them just to _see _how good they are at space combat was degrading. Gene was fighting seriously, but it seemed like Doppleganger was just playing with them. _This Doppleganger guy has a super-villain complex, _Jim thought.

However, his invitation was a blatant trap. It was so obvious that he was planning something despicable that it was not even funny. Would Gene actually consider willingly walking into something so dangerous? _The last time we received an 'invitation', we put Melfina in danger, _he thought. It was when Ron Mcdougal contacted them with potential information about Melfina and the Galactic Leyline. Gene met Ron at the restaurant half an hour away, and Gene managed to get the information, but without realizing it, he had unintentionally put Melfina and the Outlaw Star in danger. Harry had tried to kidnap Mel and take the Outlaw Star, but only with a little quick thinking did Melfina actually save herself and the Outlaw star. Jim tried talking to her about it, but the way she dodged his questions and changed the subject probably meant that it was a bad experience for her.

"Gillium, everyone, prepare for planet-fall." Gene said after careful consideration.

"What? You're not serious Gene! Let's stop and think this over! Don't you get it? Its a-"

"I know it's a trap!" Gene said interrupting Jim "But we don't have much of a choice Jim. The Outlaw Star needs repairs, and we got bills to pay; you should know that better than anyone. Once we tag his ship and tow it into a stable orbit, we're accepting his invitation."

Jim was about to say something, but decided against it. Gene rarely made good decisions, and he jumped into lots of jobs and fights without properly thinking things through, but in this case, he was right. They simply could not afford to back out of this job now. He looked back at Melfina, as if trying to see one last objection coming from the crew's most delicate member. She smiled at him and said:

"I know you're worried Jim, but it will be alright. We'll make it through this." She said with a smile.

"Yeah! We'll go down there and kick that guys ass, fry him with Gene's EMP gun, collect that bounty, and go eat at someplace nice!" Aisha yelled.

Jim was now convinced. This might possibly be the most dangerous bounty that they have ever tracked, but once their minds were made up, there was absolutely no way the crew of the Outlaw Star were backing down. Maybe after three years, Gene's stubbornness rubbed off on the rest of them.

"Alright Gene, fine. I'll start the preparations for planet-fall."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Don woke up in a very uncomfortable cot. He tried to move, but was greeted with excruciating pain. He laid back down quickly when he realized this. _Dammit I can't move! Where the hell is that 'Doppleganger' guy! I'm gonna kick his ass! _ He thought while he stared at the ceiling.

"This place looks familiar" he said out loud to no one in particular.

"That's because you're in the ports emergency medical center."

He looked around and noticed a woman who looked about in her twenties. He looked her over: he noticed that she was writing something on a clipboard, that her her was short and slightly covering her eyes, and she wore a white blouse with a blue skirt. He noticed that she didn't have a badge, and he didn't recognize her face.

"Are you a nurse?"

"No actually." She said putting her clipboard down. "I was just a dock worker until yesterday but ever since that terrorist bastard came and tore up West Virginia I-" she paused as if trying to find the right words "The people in the center didn't have enough nurses and doctors to deal with all the injured, so they got volunteers to help."

She looked him over for a second. With all his injuries, its amazing he survived.

"Can I ask you a few questions Mr.?"

"Don"

"Don, what exactly happened? I know it's too soon, but there were only a few other survivors that we found from the tower, and they are all comatose."

"Its okay, it's not too soon." He lied. He felt like hell, but this woman could call somebody who could take that bastard down so a little pain meant nothing. Besides, he could use the company. "I was monitoring the traffic and the other day. I thought it was going to be a normal day when we got this call from a guy who called himself 'Joseph Spinnard'. He claimed to be the first officer of the SF ship, Kyubi. We did the usual, asked him for his OSS code and his credentials and they all checked out."

"And then what happened?"

"He touched down on dock 12. We thought it was going to be all-routine, you know? He'd come down, work out payment with the people in charge then stay awhile but..."

"But?"

"I went out to the balcony by the customs office to have a smoke, and that's when it happened." He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "That's when he fired his goddamn weapons! I didn't realize 'till it was too late that we were in danger! I remember an explosion, and then waking up under a pile of rubble."

"When we found you, you were on top of the rubble." She said disagreeing with him.

"I'm getting to that," he said irritated. "Very soon after I woke up, this guy removed all the rubble that was on top of me. It must have weighed a lot because I couldn't move a muscle. 'He' lifted it just like that."

"He?" she said looking puzzled.

"It was HIM! The guy responsible for all of this! I found out when he was having a conversation with some guy over his radio. I don't remember the other guy, but I remember their names!"

"You do? What did he look like? What was his name?" she asked loudly. It was her turn to be upset.

"He said that he's been called many names, but lately they call him Doppleganger. His hair was long and black and tied back into a ponytail, he had blue eyes with a blue shirt and black pants. That's all I remember. I don't know why he helped me, but he's definitely the reason all this happened!"

XXXXXXX

"Are you sure you'll be fine here alone Mel?" Gene asked concerned.

"Yes, I'll be fine as long as I stay inside the Outlaw Star."

"Okay Mel. We'll be back soon, so don't worry about us!" Gene said with a thumbs up. He shared a quick kiss on the lips, and a short embrace, then got into the drivers' side of Jim's Ehefrau.

The ride to the warehouse that Doppleganger was waiting at was a quiet one. Jim was checking Gene and his weapons to make sure that everything was in working order. Everything was of course, but he just wanted to make absolutely sure not to leave anything to chance. The last thing he wanted was for any of Gene's weapons jamming or breaking down in the middle of the fight. Especially Gene's caster and the EMP gun. Those two weapons were absolutely critical.

"Jim did you get the EMP gun?" Gene asked with his eyes on the road.

"Yeah I got it." He said dryly.

"Good because we're here." Gene said pulling into the empty lot by the warehouse. It was a pathetic little structure, with crumbling sheet-rock and decaying metal scaffolds. Why had Doppleganger chosen such an ugly and decaying thing to have a 'chat' was beyond them. Of course then again, if it was a trap, it was the perfect place to have it. "Jim scan the building and see if we have any unwelcome guests, Aisha you're with me."

Jim pulled out his palmtop and typed a few keys. This was definitely odd. "Gene, I'm only detecting one human life-sign and something that looks like an android, but it's too small to be one. It's definitely him."

"What about explosives, or ninjas or anyone else in the immediate area?"

"None of the above."

"Well that's good news. I didn't think he'd actually come alone, but this makes it easier on us. Be careful though, he might still have something up his sleeve even though we can't detect any immediate threats. Aisha?"

They turned and walked towards the building. As Jim watched them walk into impending danger, he couldn't help but feel that all of this felt wrong. He never actually bothered to check the source of the information about the Doppleganger and his weakness, or the information on the ship. All of the actions that they had been taking up to this point had been on his terms, on his _rules. _It almost seemed too easy, too convenient on where he wanted this fight.

The place he picked was far from normal populated areas. When Gene drove out this far south, they hadn't seen a single car or pedestrian. Hell there wasn't even a house. Sure there was farmland, but not like the well-cultivated land that had been to the **east **of Locus where they found Melfina years ago, this land was largely ignored. So much so, that had had been overgrown. The warehouse district looked like it hadn't been used by anyone in _years_ , let alone days.

As Jim circled around to the rear of the warehouse, he began to think about the information about the ship. For an advanced SF ship, it was surprisingly easy to track and subdue. _Because we had the advantage in intelligence,_ he thought. However, even after they were tipped about the bounty from Fred, Jim did some digging about information on his ship. It had only taken him three hours to hack into the SF's Tenrei branch. Sure Tenrei is known more about its hot-springs then its Security, but even if the mainframe security was lax, it still should've taken him longer then three hours. Jim didn't think much of it at the time; he just thought that it was his mad hacking skills, but now he was not so sure.

_Its almost as if every piece of information, and everything we've done to prepare for, and take this guy down, has been handed to us, or has been within arms reach. It's almost as if 'someone' or 'something' wants us to be here. _ Now that was dangerous thinking. There'd be plenty of time for conspiracy theories and mysteries later, after Doppleganger was dead, and the original owner of his body was back to normal. _Moreover, when they were paid, _he thought.

He climbed a set of stairs that led to a door in the back. He brought out his cutting tools, and cut the knob, and its lock off the door, and slowly stepped inside. Jim pulled out his palmtop. _He hasn't moved, _he thought, _he must be waiting for Gene._ Jim moved closer to get view of the entire warehouse. What it looked like outside was nothing compared to what it looked like inside. There was broken down machinery and rusted equipment all over the floor, and on the scaffolds. There were some broken down boxes and crates, and an old forklift in the corner. It looked unusable, but if it were in the hands of someone very strong, like Aisha, it could be a very dangerous projectile. He looked around some more, and saw him. He looked like the person who had called them on the Outlaw Star less then an hour ago. He had no weapons of any kind. No guns, swords, or knives. From where Jim was standing, he had no means to defend himself. He was wearing just a plain blue shirt and pants. No armor, not even bracers or belt to indicate a light shield. _Was he a tau priest? _ If he was, there was no way to tell if he was packin' tau magic. However, for a tau priest he didn't look the part, he wore plain clothes in rough comparison to the elaborate drab that he was so used to. _But then again, he might not have to, considering his very nature allows him to take bodies. _

He looked down again to see that Gene and Aisha were now in the building. They were facing him, but they weren't talking. Doppleganger was the first to speak up: "I'm so glad you could make it, I was starting to get bored here. But you guys are punctual, I like that."

"Of course." Gene replied. " I don't like to keep the host waiting. After all you're the one who invited us to the party, how good of a guest would I be, if I showed up late?"

"Heh heh, good point. I see you brought a friend. Tell me Mister Starwind; how do you think this might look to bystanders if we got into a fight, and it was two against one?"

"Huh, you know I really don't give a damn what this looks like to bystanders. Besides, they don't know about your true nature." Gene said narrowing his eyes.

"Besides I'm just here in case Gene can't beat you. But in the case where you actually beat Gene, which is unlikely, I'll be glad to kick your ass." Aisha said confidently.

"I see. Well whatever, lets get started. You can't beat me now matter how much help you get. Oh and if you thinking about ambushing me with that weak little amateur, you're sadly mistaken."

Did he hear him? That's impossible, he was sure that no one heard him come in. He was also sure that he wasn't visible from his position. _This is bad _he thought. This guy is a lot more dangerous then he thought. But just as he was about to move to different position, Gene leapt towards Doppleganger at full speed. He was running at full speed when he drew out his carbon knife. He slashed at his midsection, but Doppleganger reached down and misdirected Gene by slapping his knife-hand. Under normal circumstances, this would make a normal outlaw fall flat on his face, but Gene quickly recovered by placing his left hand on the ground and used his momentum to bring up a powerful left kick. Doppleganger, anticipating this, caught his kick and sent Gene barreling to the ground.

Gene quickly rolled to his feet. _That was a good move, _ he thought. He threw his knife at Doppleganger and was rewarded by a swift dodge to the left. Gene closed the distance and delivered a swift kick to his face. Gene was rewarded by his quick fall, and a loud _thump. _"So how do you like that?" He asked "Hey Aisha! This guy's an amateur! It looks like I won't need your help after all!" She only shrugged at this. "So I'm an amateur huh?" he said getting up. "Well It looks like I'm gonna have to take you more seriously Starwind."

Gene looked at Doppleganger. _This guy isn't so tuff, _he thought. He continued to look at him, as if to keep him from pulling whatever trick he had up his sleeve. Then he disappeared. His eyes widened. He looked around to his side, but he was late in reacting, and was punched in the face _hard. _ He stumbled back and tried to recover, Doppleganger dropped into a martial arts stance with his left open palm in the front and his right open palm pointed downward. Gene, had little time to react as an powerful open-ended jab impacted into his rib cage.

The air was knocked out of his lungs as he was propelled backward fifteen feet. Doppleganger simply exhaled as Gene stumbled to his feet coughing.

_Oh he's one of those kinds of people. I can deal. _

He looked over at Doppleganger. The way he moved defied logic. You can't move like that unless you're an android or a tau priest. Gene knew this wasn't gonna be easy, he wouldn't have a 70,000 wong bounty if it was easy. "Okay Doppleganger, I don't know what trick you used, but it won't work again. I'm serious now, so get ready." Gene moved before he finished, he pulled out his sawed-off shotgun and fired two rounds. The rounds should have hit, _should have, _but both seemed to hit only air as he fired at his face and chest.

"Okay, I see you can dodge bullets. Nothing new, lets see how you like my CASTER!"

"Caster?"

Time seemed to slow down, as Gene fired his Caster that was pre-loaded with a number-3 shell. The sound of the number-3 shell leaving the chamber and the burst of energy was deafening to Jim as he braced himself against the walls of the warehouse. The round impacted and seemed to swallow Doppleganger. The energy burned through the wall and hit an old semi 50 yards away. It exploded knocking Jim off his brace to the ground below. He hit the ground, then quickly rolled to reduce the impact.

"Jesus Gene! You could have killed me! Did you really think it was necessary to bring out your caster this soon!"

"Sorry Jim, you saw how fast he was, I had to catch him off guard. But everything worked out fine! We got him didn't we?"

"Ah man, I didn't get to have any fun. A Ctarl-Ctarl like me could have easily beaten that kind of guy." Aisha said pouting.

"I'm sure you could have Aisha, but I needed to have something to show that I killed the Doppleganger, and you would've ripped him to shreds." Gene said looking around " Speaking of that, where's his body?"

At that moment, they all turned around to see Doppleganger perched on top of one of the scaffolds. His clothes were tattered and burned. Part of his chest was visible and singed, but he was fine otherwise.

"Bravo Starwind! Once again, I've underestimated you. That would have surely killed any normal human, however-"

He seemed to disappear again, only to reappear right behind Gene. Gene turned too late, and was knocked out by a blow to the back of the head. "-I;'m done playing with you." Gene's body went limp as he hit the ground with a sickening _thud._

"GENE!" Jim yelled as he ran over to where Gene was laying. Doppleganger only stared at Jim as he tried to wake Gene up. He turned back around to hear the sound of knuckles cracking.

"Now its time you face a Ctarl-Ctarl!" Aisha said with her muscles bulging.

"Really? I hope you're better entertainment then the last guest."

"Entertainment!" She laughed "You don't seem to realize the danger you're in human! You've just been challenged by a Ctarl-Ctarl! And one of the strongest at that!" She yelled running towards him. She swiped at his face with her claws, but he easily dodged and sent several light punches to her midsection. This barely fazed her as she side-kicked low to catch him off balance, but he fainted right. She followed with a left backhand. He dropped to his stance to lower his height, and followed with the same mid-section jab that he use on Gene. It connected, and sent Aisha sprawling backwards 15 feet like before, and just like Gene, she slowly got up coughing.

"I gotta admit, that's the hardest cough a human ever hit cough me without using a gun. But how could that attack have hurt me just like Gene?" She asked rolling hear head and regaining her composure.

"Its simple, I used a much stronger version of the same attack on you. You see, I've fought Ctarl-Ctarl before, and I know all about your reputation as 'invincible', but believe me when I say this that you're nothing special. I also know that you have been holding back. Go ahead; turn into you're half-beast form. It won't help you though."

She only growled at this. Sure she had been holding back. She needed too, its not like this fight was life or death, because it wasn't. They all came down here for a 70,000 wong bounty, and if she turned into her half-beast form and ripped him to shreds, there wouldn't be anything left to collect on. However, this cocky human was really starting to piss her off.

"Put this guy in his place Aisha! Kick his ass, then hold him still so I can shoot him with this!" Jim said waving the EMP gun around. _Who cares if you tear him up a little! Its better to have a slightly torn up body, then to have anyone else get hurt!_

That was all the permission she needed. With a roar, her muscles bulged further, and her fangs grew larger. _Time to go berserk _she thought.

She closed the distance between them and swiped at his head with her claws. He dodged it easily, but she continued to swipe at different sections of his body. She tried slashing his chest, his legs, his left arm, and his stomach. He dodged them all. This frustrated her further. She increased the fury of her swipes at various sections of his body. She swiped at his midsection again, and was rewarded by his arms flailing up into the air, leaving his midsection open. She took advantage of this, and gave a swift side-kick to his abdomen.

Doppleganger, surprised by this, doubled over and coughed. It must not have really hurt, because he was coughing very lightly.

"Not bad! I take it back, you're actually pretty good when it comes down to it. But you're a thousand years early if you think you can beat me-" and with that he disappeared again, only to appear right in front of her. He was so close, that none of her moves would work save a few suplex maneuvers. She tried to grab him, but he was too fast, she was struck in the diaphragm by both of his hands open palmed, but with the fingers pointing to the sides, as if imitating a butterfly. She was blown back, but she kept her footing. As Aisha was recovering, Doppleganger vanished again, only to appear behind her this time. He grabbed the ring on the end of her pony-tail and pulled, then kicked her backside.

Everything seemed far away to Aisha as she flew towards the ground. That last kick really hurt in more ways then none, but she was glad to hit the ground. She tried to get up, but was slammed back onto the pavement face first. She felt a boot grinding into her head. _This cocky bastard is really pissing me off, but what's with this guy? He dodged almost all of my moves, and the one that connected hardly fazed him!_ she thought. She was about to make her move when she heard a gunshot.

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!" Jim yelled running towards Doppleganger. He released Aisha from his heel, and sprung into action. He dodged left, closed the distance between them, and slapped the gun out of Jim's hand. He then grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. _This kid tried to save the woman. Is she important to him? She's a comrade of his, so it's likely that wouldn't let his comrade die. But the way he behaved as I was knocking her around was almost borderline insane. _He thought. That woman is a lot more than just a comrade or a friend to him. A sister-like person? A surrogate mother perhaps? _Lover?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a _click _and the sound of a pin hitting concrete. _A grenade _he thought.

The boy then pulled out an unseen tazer, pressed the two pronged side into Doppleganger's arm, then released the current stored in the battery. Doppleganger almost mechanically released Jim. The boy regained his footing, and dove for cover. The grenade landed on Doppleganger's right shoe, and then exploded seconds later. Doppleganger made no effort to move, for small shrapnel explosions were almost completely harmless to him. _It was a good move though. I never expected him to do something equally as crazy. _

The boy got out of his cover. John tried to remember who this kid was on Gene's team. _Who was he again? Oh right, he's the brains of Gene's outfit. I think his name was James Hawker or Hawkings or whatever. _Jim's eyes darted left as if to check something. _Is he checking to see if the Ctarl-Ctarl is okay? _

Right at that moment, Doppleganger was grabbed by Aisha and put into a tight head-lock. "Jim I have him! Fire the EMP gun NOW!" She yelled.

_EMP gun? I'd better move fast!"_

Jim pointed the gun at Aisha and pulled the trigger. The air seemed to distort as a wave of electromagnetic energy washed over Aisha and Doppleganger. She released her headlock on her captor, and as she did, they both noticed that his eyes reared into the back of his head, and he started spasming wildly. He mumbled something incomprehensible, and started foaming at the mouth, then nothing.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Did I get him?" Jim asked lowering his weapon.

"He's not moving." Aisha said examining him.

Jim walked over to Aisha; that was a pretty difficult fight, even Gene was knocked unconscious at the end. He would be waking up soon, but he would be extremely angry. _He'll live, I mean that guy was really tough but at least its over. If I confirm his death and bring back the protein marker as proof, we're in for a total of 170,000 wong! Naturally, some would be used to repair the Outlaw Star, but we've finally finished this guy!_ As Jim got closer, he was promptly slapped in the back of the head _hard _by a very upset Aisha.

"What the hell was that for!" Jim yelled rubbing his head.

"That's for jumping in and putting yourself in danger!" Aisha yelled.

"Aisha I'm the BACKUP! It's my job to BACK you and Gene UP!" He turned around to face her, "If you and Gene get in trouble, I'm supposed to-" his sentence was interrupted by sudden and almost instantaneous embrace of Aisha. Jim didn't know how to respond to this.

"Listen Jim," she answered. Her voice was much quieter and carried a gentleness that gave Mel a run for her money. A far-cry from the typical brash and prideful cat-girl she normally was. "I _know _what your job is, I know you were only trying to help, but when I saw you there in his grip struggling, I was scared. _Really _scared for you. In the time it takes for me to get up, he could have really hurt you or worse I-"

Jim was speechless. He had never seen her like this, in any situation. From where he was standing earlier and watching her get pounded, it looked like she was in deep trouble. He only did it to help her, but without realizing it, Jim had caused his best friend to worry about himself.

"-I; don't know what I'd do if you got hurt or killed Jim. You have to promise me that you'll never do something so dangerous again, okay?"

"Okay Aisha, I promise that I won't do something like that ever again." Even though it was common sense to just agree with someone who had you in an embrace (especially if they were MUCH stronger then you); the concern in her voice and the fact that she cared so much made Jim completely forget that she hit him really hard.

Then he just realized where he was. "Aisha, I'm fine now, you can let me go. I need to check him to make sure that the host isn't dead, and I also need a blood sample to check for Doppleganger's protein marker." He said fighting back a blush and stutter.

She released him.

"Ugh, did I miss something?"

Jim and Aisha turned around to see Gene awake and moving about. Its good that he wasn't hurt bad, but Jim knew better than to think that someone like Doppleganger could seriously injure Gene. He was bruised and bleeding in several places, but he carried a superior smirk on his face.

"It looks like you guys finished the job while I was out, good job guys!"

"Well its not finished yet Gene, I have to make sure the host is alive, and I have to take a sample."

Jim checked his pulse and confirmed that the host was in fact alive. He then took a blood sample and turned the body over; what happened next was totally unexpected. The color on Jim's face left as he looked at the hosts' neck. "Jim what's wrong?" Aisha asked immediately. Jim turned around and looked all over their immediate area.

"GUYS WATCH OUT, THERE'S AN EXIT WOUND ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK! THAT MEANS HE'S-"

Jim never finished that sentence. He collapsed onto the concrete right then and there.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Don laid in his cot and continued looking up at the ceiling. It had been 2 hours since he told his story to one of the medics, and since he was found at ground zero still alive. One of the doctors finally got around to seeing him, and after a quick examination, he determined that Don had only a minor concussion and two cracked ribs. He said that the injuries were fairly minor, and he should be able to walk within a few days. The medic who examined him earlier had said that it was a miracle from God, and that he should be thankful.

He was anything but thankful

A few cots down from him, he could here a smile child crying. He listened intently to find out why.

"...Look I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. You may want to consider nerve surgery, but if you can't afford it, you're son may never walk again."

"What are you saying! You can't talk about things like that so freely! He's just a CHILD!" The mother yelled at the doctor.

The boy was crying louder now. It was a sad scene, and Don honestly felt bad for the kid. He only looked about 10 or 11, but he was bawling because he found out that he has lost his ability to walk. Poor guy.

"Shhh Shh, we'll get through this, okay Sean?"

"But I'll never walk again!" he said between sobs.

"I know its hard son, but mommy won't let you stay like this forever. I'm going to work hard to make sure that you get that surgery."

This wasn't enough. The boy continued to cry, as if his life was just taken away from him.

"Hush dear, here let me sing you a song." She said very quietly, but Don could understand her clearly because he'd heard those words many times from his own mother before she left.

She sung a very gentle folk song in Japanese that he didn't recognize. It was very soothing, and almost seemed to take all of his troubles away as well.

Anata no, kokoro ni

Kaze ga aru nara

Soshite, sore ga

haru no kaze nara

Watashi hitori de fukarete mitai na

Itsumade mo itsumade mo

Anata no kokoro ni

Sora ga aru nara

Soshite, Sore ga

Aoi sora nara

Watashi hitori de

nobotte mitai na

dokomade mo, dokomade mo

Datte itsumo anata wa

waratte iru dake

Soshite watashi o

Dakishimeru dake

Anata no, kokoro ni

Umi ga aru nara

Soshite, sore ga

Namida no Umi nara

Watashi hitori de oyoide mitai na

Itsumade mo Itsumade mo

Datte itsumo anata wa

waratte iru dake,

Soshite watashi o

Dakishimeru dake...

The boy was asleep now, and who wouldn't be? It was a very soothing song that seemed to defy the laws of the universe and soothe anyone's being. He wondered how the woman could calm her son in such a way, especially after such a horrible disaster. _I wish I knew the words _he thought. She noticed him staring at her and spoke up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. Its just that-"

"Not at all ma'am. I know what it's like to lose something very precious and important. I don't mind, really."

The woman simply smiled at this, and went back to comforting her child.

Don laid back down on his bed and put his hands behind his head. _I guess things aren't all bad _he thought. He couldn't stop thinking about some things that just didn't add up. Like why Doppleganger had decided to spare his life. From what he had heard, and from the reaction he got when he told the medic, Doppleganger was an indiscriminate killer. Also, when he looked at him, he appeared to be only about 25, but when he caught a glimpse of his eyes, and the way he talked made him seem much_ older. And don't forget the fact that he said that he has been called many names. What was that about? _

Doppleganger was just an asshole who loved to hear himself talk as far as Don was concerned. He wanted some answers and laying there, would not get him the results he wanted. He decided he needed to get out of the EMC as soon as possible. However, as he was contemplating his discharge, another conversation caught his attention.

"...You're shitting me right? Are you telling me that outlaw and his crew are here?"

"No I'm definitely not shitting you! Gene and his cohort set down at pier 7 less then an hour ago."

_Gene? Where have I heard that name before?_

"...I was there! He paid his fee for the next few days, then took a Ctarl-Ctarl girl, and a kid and headed south."

_That's right! Gene's the guy who Doppleganger was talking to over the radio! He wanted to meet him at the Warehouse district to the South of Locus! When I'm strong enough, I'm gonna ask this Gene guy what the hell is going on!_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"JIm? Wake up Jim!" Aisha said jostling her young friend.

"What happened to him? Do you think he got hurt earlier?" Gene asked concerned.

"I don't know! He just started looking everywhere, warned us to look out, then he collapsed! He just fell over after that and-"

Jim heard some voices; he couldn't open his eyes, so he could not tell if they were close or very far away. He tried to move, but every muscle in his body seemed to lack feeling. Nothing moved when he willed his muscles to move. Nothing.

_Why can't I move? _He thought. Just then his eyelids shot open, much to the relief of Gene and Aisha. _Guys, I'm okay...WHY CAN'T I TALK? What's going on! I can't move a muscle! WHY?_

**Because I'm in control. **A loud voice said that seemed to shake his very being.

_What? Who are you?_

**Oh come now Jim. You should know who I am. **

The voice boomed again. It encompassed every part of his being, and enveloped Jim in a form of fear that he had never felt before. Gene and Aisha continued to look him over. They were giving him room, and saying something about him being exhausted, and that he needs rest.

_AISHA! GENE! THE DOPPLEGANGER HAS ME! RUN! FIRE THE EMP! DO SOMETHING! ARE YOU LISTENING?_

Nothing.

**They can't hear you James. I have complete control over your body. There is nothing you can do.**

Doppleganger's last words hit him harder than any punch or kick ever could. He couldn't feel anything, and he could feel his body move, but he couldn't move it himself. He couldn't even speak, or communicate in any way to tell Gene and Aisha that they were in danger. Now, he felt truly afraid and weak.

He wanted to scream.

But he couldn't even do that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey Gene he woke up! Jim are you alright? Can you move?" Aisha asked concerned.

The young Outlaw looked straight upwards. He sat up slowly and looked around, first to Gene, then to Aisha, as if to get familiar with his new surroundings. He looked at his hands, flexed them, and lowered them. Gene and Aisha only looked at each other. They didn't know what to think about Jim's strange behavior. Aisha was the first to speak.

"Jim are you alright?" She said putting her hand on his shoulder.

With blinding speed, Jim grabbed a hold of Aisha's hand, and threw her over his shoulder. She flipped and landed on her feet. "Jim what the hell is wrong with you?"

_This body makes me feel good! Who would've thought that such a kid existed in the galaxy! I'm going to enjoy the third and final part of the plan!_

Jim started laughing maniacally.

"Jim don't you-"

"I am not JAMES HAWKING!" He said in a voice that was Jim's, but with feeling and malice that definately didn't belong to their young companion.

Gene backed peddled into a fighting stance a few yards away. He pulled out his carbon knife and tazer. "Aisha that's not Jim anymore. His body has been taken."

"You coward! LET JIM GO!" Aisha screamed as she also backed into her stance.

Jim, now the Doppleganger, simply cocked his head sideways at Aisha's demand. "Why? I just got here."

"You're going to let Jim go because we told you to. Oh I also forgot to mention that we got all the big guns-" Gene said picking up the EMP, "plus you're at the disadvantage now. You may have been faster than my eyes before, but you made a big mistake taking Jim's body."

"Really Gene Starwind? Heh heh you know its funny, you think you can beat me just because I switched bodies. Having a body just means that I have someplace to stay and hang my hat. It has nothing to do with my speed and strength."

"You know what Doppleganger? You really are full of shit." Gene replied dryly and sprung into action. He swiped at his former friends face. Doppleganger simply dodged, but Gene wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a big opening. Gene quickly followed through with a punch to the gut. This surprised John, who was sure that Gene would make use of the tazer that he had. Gene followed through with a sweep that knocked their former friend off his feet. Gene then dove with his tazer outstretched as if trying to stab him with it. Doppleganger simply rolled to his feet. Gene recovered as well, and quickly returned to his stance, trying to anticipate whatever Doppleganger would try. Gene kept his eyes on Doppleganger and didn't move a muscle.

_Whatever he thinks he can try with my eyes on him like this, it won't work _he thought. Gene was absolutely sure that there was nothing he could do. After all he did take Jim's body, and although Jim was exceptionally healthy, he was physically the weakest out of all the people on the Outlaw Star. _Except Mel of course. _Gene would have stood a chance, if Doppleganger hadn't disappeared.

_SHIT! _Gene thought as he tried to find out which direction he was coming from. Jim appeared right in front of Gene kneeling. Gene tried to move, but it was too late. Jim squatted, and delivered a powerful uppercut to Gene's Jaw. To which he followed through with lighting quick kick to his midsection. Gene was thrown back by the force of the blow. He hit the ground twenty feet away and rolled backwards before coming to a hard stop to a stack of crates. He tried to move, but was greeted by a bloody cough and stabbing pain. _Oh man. I really did it this time _he thought. _I can't give up now! Dammit! MOVE GODDAMMIT!_

"I told you Starwind that you are no match for me."

Aisha watched in utter horror. She couldn't believe that her young friend was now a host to Doppleganger, and that he had injured Gene. The way he moved, the way he fought, the way he spoke, the way he just _looked_ wasn't Jim. But Jim was still there, inside somewhere.

Doppleganger then turned his attention to Aisha.

"Aisha Clan-Clan, it looks like its just you and me now," he said with hostility.

"Give Jim back to us!" Aisha yelled.

"I'm sorry but I can't do that," he replied "besides, if I gave him back now, I wouldn't get to enjoy what I'm about to do to you." He looked over at Gene who was still trying to recover, "you know when I was fighting Starwind, I made sure that Jim saw everything. He was screaming 'NO DON'T DO IT, STOP IT PLEASE!' every time I injured Gene." Doppleganger then looked back at Aisha "I wonder what he'll say if I hurt you? Tell me Aisha-" he said walking in her direction. "-Who; do you think would win in a 'real' fight. Nightmare or Sophitia?"

_WHAT? How can he know that? Nightmare is Jim's favorite character in Soul Calibur 3000! _Aisha thought.

A light chuckle left his mouth "Heh heh, I knew you'd be surprised! And that's not all I know! Remember the Grave of the Dragon Aisha? Remember when Jim got mad at Gene, and ran off in a huff?"

_How can he know that?_

"Boy, Jim was pissed! To him, Gene was treating Melfina more like an object then a person." He turned back to look at Gene "can you believe that Aisha?" It was Gene's turn to be surprised. "You came and saw him a few minutes later, you tried to cheer him up by saying you really shouldn't worry about grownup problems."

He vanished again, Aisha looked around the warehouse to see where he went. She looked to the left, and was struck by a right hook to the face; she stumbled and fell to the ground on her side.

"Stop it." She said getting up slowly

"I'm not finished" he replied "Don't like that memory? How about an earlier one?" He said with his mouth twisting into a sadistic smile. "Do you wonder why Jim went to take a nap early a couple of days ago after you two played that game?"

_What did he say?_

"You probably thought he was acting pretty strangely. The truth is Aisha, on that day, you reminded him of someone", he said circling her. "A girl named Hannmyo"

_Hannmyo? Who's Hannmyo? _She thought as she turned to face him.

"Just as I thought you don't know who she is. Well, let me tell you a little story." He said stopping right in front of her. "Three years ago, after the Outlaw Star was damaged in a fight with Kei grappler ship, you guys made a brief stop at a station named Symca 5. Sound familiar?" He said as he brought his hand up to his chin. "When everyone went there separate ways on the station, little Jimmy took a walk in the park; there, Jim met a girl who owned two cats."

Aisha was shocked; how could he do this? What he was doing was horrible, he said that he made sure that Jim saw everything he was doing to Gene. Was he watching now? Was he screaming now? Or worse?

"They immediately connected, little Jimmy couldn't stop thinking about her. The two of them had lots of fun together that day. They were so into each other, that they decided to meet again."

_Why is he telling me all this?_

"I guess you could say that their next meeting was Jim's first date. It went so well, that they decided to meet the next day at the same place." He paused for a moment, " when he showed up at the park the third day to meet Hannmyo, she never came. Jim couldn't understand why she stood him up to this day."

_How come Jim never told me about this?_

"But since you guys have been such great guests to my party, I'm going to go ahead and tell you what I know about this girl."

_Huh?_ Aisha thought.

"You know I've been alive for a long time, and I've also been pretty much everywhere, and seen all kinds of people-" he began to walk towards Aisha. "-I; also make it my business to know everything there is to know about the current pirate groups and their territories." He said vanishing. He appeared in front of her and punched her in the gut _hard. _She doubled over and grabbed her stomach. "I'm sure you are familiar with the Anten Seven. You should be, you fought two of them, Shimi and Jukai."

She made no effort to get up. He was just too strong, and to top it all of, even though it was Doppleganger, he was controlling the body that belonged to Jim. She just couldn't fight back. If she hurt him in anyway, it would just make things worse. "Please...let him go...please..." She said struggling for breath.

"Here comes the best part." he said kneeling down next to her. "The Anten Seven are brutal and ruthless, and every member is renowned in their chosen abilities. Every member is unique, like a particular grappler pilot." He said inching closer "This pilot was a child prodigy, who had black hair, was a girl and , you're gonna love this; she loved cats." He was now whispering softly "She's the grappler pilot that attacked the Outlaw Star at Symca 5."

Those last words hit her like daggers. If what he said was true, then Jim's first love was killed by Suzuka, Gene, and her. Tears dripped down her face, and a light sob left her mouth. She killed her. _Here I was thinking about how cute he was earlier today. How could I be so insensitive? I'm so sorry Jim! If things were different I-_she stopped there. Strong as she was, Aisha never felt so _weak._ She wanted Jim back more then ever now, so she could apologize, so she could make it up to him.

"This is priceless!" he said laughing. " But do you know what Clan-Clan? Jim will never admit it, but I think he loves _you." _ he said standing up. "And now, I'm going to hurt the one _he loves."_

_Go ahead. Punch me. Kick me. Break me. I deserve it, because I'm lower then dirt. I don't deserve any kind of forgiveness from Jim because of what I've done._

"Alright I can see that you going to give up. What happened to all that Ctarl-Ctarl pride? Hmm? I'll make this quick now d- ARGGGGHHHHAAA" He was interrupted by a wave of energy washed over Doppleganger and Aisha. He collapsed to the ground and spasmed once, then stopped.

"You TALK TO MUCH!" A very angry Gene said with the EMP gun in his hand. But Gene wasn't finished, to make sure, he fired the gun several more times until the power-supply went dead and the gun couldn't fire anymore. Satisfied that Doppleganger released his hold on Jim, Gene limped over to Aisha and put his right hand on her shoulder. "Are you going to be alright Aisha?"

"I don't know." She said quietly

"Lets get Jim back to the Outlaw Star, then we can decide what to do from there." He replied

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_I see that I've been beaten. I don't have much time left. Do you hate me Jim? I don't blame you if you do. But let me tell you something: Everything happens for a reason, and what happened to you today is no exception. I am a catalyst. You are weak and you know it. I know you want to become stronger. If you pay attention in the future, you might find your answers. Do you hate me Jim? Do you?_

Chapter 4: End

Authors Notes: _So what did you guys think? Did you like it? Dislike it? What? Well anyways, thats the end of the first part of my story. For those that are interested, there are three parts to my story, an epilogue, and a spinoff. Some of you may be upset with me for treating Jim in such a way. Sorry! But enough about that. Thank you again for reviewing my chapters. I love you guys sobs . (By the way Ronin, did you get the e-mail I sent you? Did it answer your question?) The next chapter is gonna be short, and you should expect it soon. _

_Ja Ne :D_


	5. In a Nutshell

_DISCLAIMER: I own an ipod and lots of suggestible material, but I do not own Outlaw Star. _

_Hey guys welcome back. Her is the entry into the second part of TSCFTH. It's short so enjoy! Now without further Bull-malarky here's:_

Chapter 5: In a Nutshell

It was 3:00 in the afternoon, and Melfina was alone on the Outlaw Star. She was quite bored waiting for Gene to get back, so she decided to get an early start on dinner. _Will chicken catchitory be okay? _She thought to herself as she was getting the ingredients. _Lets see...It needs rice. Was it long grain or short grain? Thats right now I remember! The recipe calls for long grain; you only use short grain rice in Japanese cooking._ She thought. _Do we have any chicken? _Would she have to cut up some thawed chicken breasts? But then she remembered that she cooked some hawaiian chicken and beef a few days ago. She cut up extra chicken just in case she might need it a few days down the road. _Okay well in that case, all I need is tomato sauce. _

"Gillium? Could you please fetch me four 16 oz cans of tomato sauce please"

"Yes Melfina, but remember it may take some time. We are on a planet now you know."

Cooking was always something that Melfina did in order to take her mind off of what was worrying her. Even when they were looking for the Galactic Leyline years ago, she felt that simply navigating wasn't enough so she took up cooking. After all, everyone else in Starwind and Hawking had their jobs, but because she couldn't fight, she had to fill in other areas; such as a medic or a house cleaner.

But cooking was her favorite.

Cooking was one of the few things in the universe that was appropreatly called a science and an art. It tickled fantasies and indulgences; while at the same time nurished your mind, body, and soul. Because everyone on the Outlaw Star led dangerous lives, and often travled, having a cook on board meant that in a way, it was home. _Home away from Home._ She recognized how important her role was in Starwind and Hawking very early, it was her job; she enjoyed it, and took it very seriously.

"I'd better get started on the rice." she said out loud.

"Excuse me Melfina" Gillium piped"Gene and Aisha are back, and I believe Jim is injured."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Where am I? _Jim blinked and looked around his immediate area. It was all dark, as if there were no lights, the ground was very cold. There was no furnature or structures. He couldn't see the walls or the ceiling. _Can I move? _ He sat up. _Well at least I got my body back. _

_What happened and how did I get here? _He thought standing up.

Just then, a flood of images and feelings came rushing into his mind. All the people he met, as well as others. Others he had not recognized, or had never met before. The images stopped, and the dark room was replaced with a warehouse. _This place looks familiar._ He looked around, and noticed Gene standing to his left. _Gene! You're okay! _He started walking towards Gene not knowing what to say. Gene simply looked back at him, smiled, then pulled out his pistol and pulled the trigger several times. _Why are you shooting at me Gene!_

The bullets should have impacted a long time ago, but they seemed to move slowly. _Very slowly._ Jim's body moved on its own, and jabbed Gene in the lower chest. _What am I doing? _He then hit Gene several more times, then stopped.

"Okay, I see you can dodge bullets. Nothing new, lets see how you like my CASTER"

_A CASTER!_

Gene fired his caster at him with surprising speed; but the round seemed to slow down as it left the chamber. It's energy travled slowly forward. _What's going on? _He rolled out of the way and got back to his feet. He stepped on something. Something _hard. _He looked down, and noticed that under his heel was a Ctarl-Ctarl woman. _OH MY GOD, AISHA? I'M SO SORRY! _He said stumbling backwards. The words fell on deaf ears.

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE" A voice said from a distance. _What was that?_

Jim removed his foot from Aisha and turned around and caught something. He looked down and saw that he had grabbed the neck of a young blond outlaw. _What the hell? ME?_

At that moment. The person in front of him, Aisha, and Gene, all dissolved. The broken and crumbling interior of the warehouse was gone and replaced with a quiet neighborhood. _Where am I this time? _He looked around. He was on the sidewalk next to a typical sub-urban two story house. _What the hell am I doing here?_

"Aren't you going to walk me to the door Coby" A voice spoke up next to him. Jim looked to his right and noticed a young brunette woman staring at him. She had hazel eyes and an average figure. She was wearing a blue plain t-shirt and jeans, and carried a small leather purse. "Well"

It took him awhile to realize that the question was directed towards him.

"Uh, yeah." Jim spoke up. _Who is this woman? _Jim pondered.

"I had a really good time tonight Coby."

"You did? Well thats goo-mmphh" Jim was cut off by the sudden deep kiss of this woman. Jim was stunned, he didn't know how to react. _Is this a dream? _It felt awfully real to be a dream. She drew away just as suddenly.

"What was that all of the sudden" Jim asked confused.

"Look Coby, I did that because I have something to tell you."

Now Jim was really confused. This was like a dream, every place he'd been to had been stranger then the last. It was like a dream. _But dreams don't feel this real. _The kiss felt real, the ground felt real, he could smell the fresh cut grass from the lawn, and even the radio blaring from the car on the street sounded real. It was playing a song with quiet lyrics, on top of the very depressing melody from a piano. The lyrics were discernable.

"Listen, I know you were trying to help me feel better by taking me out, and that's very sweet of you but" she paused. "-But I don't think I'll ever get over John. I mean, we've been going out for over four years, and then just out of the blue he...he..." She stumbled. Was this woman dumped by this John person? Or worse?

"I'm sorry...I...I..just need some time alone. Its just that you remind me so much of him...that...I..."

The music was louder now, but the lyrics still were not very clear.

"Look just forget it ever happened Coby. Are you coming to the funeral next week"

"Yes, of course I'm coming." He replied dryly.

"Alright I guess I'll see you next week then.

The music was louder now, and the lyrics were now understandable. The woman gave him a hug goodbye, and walked in side, then closed the door.

All around me are familiar faces,

Worn out places,

Worn out faces;

Bright and early for the daily races,

Going no where,

Going no where;

Their tears are filling up their glasses,

No expression,

No expression;

Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow,

No tomorrow,

No tomorrow;

And I find it kind of funny

I find it kind of sad...

The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had...

I find it hard to tell you

I find it hard to take...

When people run in circles its a very very,

Mad world...

Mad world...

Everything dissolved again and Jim was now in a park. _ Oh no. This can't be_...He looked around and saw two cats on the ground. _This can't be happening!_ The cats ran away.

"Wait" Jim yelled as he gave chase. He followed them to the center of the park where the fountain was. He bent over to catch his breath. He looked up to see a very familiar face:

There standing on the edge of the fountain was a girl with short hair. She looked in Jim's direction and smiled. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." She said jumping off the side gracefully.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I don't care if you think I can't walk yet! I'm leaving"

"But Mr. Don sir! You can't leave now, you'll just aggrevate your injuries further if you move! Please wait a few more days before you move."

Don then sat up, he winced at the slight amount of pain coming from his midsection and legs. He got out of his cot just as quickly.

"Listen all of you, I have something very important that I need to do. I know my rights, and you can't keep me here if I'm an unwilling patient." Don said aggrevated

"I can't believe you're willing to go through with this! Young people these days always want to do things faster! You have to be patient"

"Screw that" He replied with malice.

"Listen Don can't you please stay a little longer? I know its hard, but this is really for your safety." The female medic said. Don looked back at her. _This is the woman who looked after me for awhile _he thought.

"Look I know you're trying to look after me because I'm young and all, and I really thank you for it, but I really gotta go."

She looked at him, with pleading eyes as if to try to make him find some reason to stay longer. But after looking at him she noticed that he was determined not to stay. "Fine, but don't come back here if you get yourself hurt."

Don smiled at this and said"Fine by me. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Don limped out of the EMC and started making his way to the Docks where the ships were. A half an hour ago, he managed to get a few answers out of one of the workers in the EMC about Gene Starwind and his crew. Apparently, they owned their own ship, and were here trying to track down Doppleganger. It was logical to assume that they had the information that he was looking for, as get a chance to find out about the whereabouts of him. If he played his cards right, he would make that son-of-a-bitch pay.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh my god! Gene what's happened to Jim" Melfina asked.

Gene walked through the main hatch on the Outlaw Star carrying his young outlaw friend over his shoulder. To Melfina, Gene looked like he had been run over by a car. His face had a black swollen eye, and he was limping, but it looked like nothing serious. Aisha came up behind him, she looked a little better, save a few cuts and bruises, but her mood was much worse. It looked like she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Please tell me what happened Gene" Melfina asked very concerned.

"Look, lets get him into the hold and lay him down. Once Gillium scans him, I'll tell you everything ." He carried Jim into the hold and laid him down. "Gillium! Scan Jim and tell me about any irregularities that appear."

A small pink can slid across the rail into the hold and answered. "Affirmative Gene. One moment please." Gillium dropped down from the rail, and situated itself on the table where Jim was placed. He looked Jim over for a few moments then gave his answer. "His blood pressure is irregular, he has a higher rate of protien and silicon in his blood, and he is unconsious."

"Is there anything else wrong? Like something living _inside _him"

"No Gene, although I am detecting what looks like remains of a roundworm attached to his upper spine and lower brain stem, but my sensors show that it died some time ago."

"I see, then if it's dead, does it pose any threat to Jim's health if it decomposes"

"It seems to be made of non-toxic materials, if it decomposes it shouldn't be a problem.

Well thats a relief." Gene said exhaling. "Okay Mel, you'd better sit down."

Gene went on to tell Melfina everything that had happened, from the very beginning when they first entered the warehouse, to when Jim was possessed and how Doppleganger had opened up some old sensitive wounds and very private memories. Aisha was very quiet during all of this, she wanted Gene to tell Melfina what happened. After all, there was no need to tell her specifically what Doppleganger said that put both Gene and Aisha in a very bad mood.

"Aisha, are you going to be alright" Melfina asked

"Yes..." She said after a few moments.

Hearing this, Melfina leaned over to Gene and motioned him to follow her outside the hold. Gene might not have been very perceptive when it came to women, but he knew when someone needed a few minutes to be alone. Gene followed Melfina, and reminded Aisha that if she needed anything just yell, and they'd be there in a second.

Aisha looked down at her young terran friend. Out of all the ones who fought at the warehouse, Jim looked like he had seen the least amount of fighting. He had a few marks around his neck from where Doppleganger had tried to strangle him, but nothing else. His face and clothes were slightly covered with dirt and grime. If you were to come into the hold and see Jim for the first time, you wouldn't believe that he had fighting very brutilly less then an hour before. His eyes twitched. _So he's dreaming huh? I hope its a good dream. _She took his hand and held it.

"Please wake up soon Jim." She said out loud

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Aren't you going to say hello Jim" She said smiling.

Jim just stood there shocked to his core. He couldn't comprehend what he was looking at. His mind was thinking it, but he couldn't admit that the girl he was staring at _died _three years ago. _Is that who I think it is? There's no way. I heard from 'him' that she was dead, and that I killed her. _He thought.

"Yes it is me Jimmy. Its Hannmyo." She blurted

Jim doubled over and chocked back a sob. "That can't be true! This is probaly just another illusion made by Doppleganger! He"

"Doppleganger's dead Jim." She said interrupting him.

"Then is it true" He asked not wanting to believe his eyes "About what he said" Jim asked crying openly now. "That you're"

"Dead Jim? Yes it's true, but stop blaming yourself; it wasn't your fault." She said walking towards him. She then helped him up, and gave him a tight embrace. "Listen Jimmy, on the Kyubi there is some very large computer files, and a message for you. The message has a time-release lock on it, so you can't open it and listen to it for a week or so. The computer files are a list of contacts, an A.I., and a diary."

"Why are you telling me all this" Jim asked confused.

"Because I care about you and I want you happy again of course" She said pulling him away. She looked into his face and grinned. "Say Jimmy I gotta go. I'll see you around okay? Come on Kimi and Mata" She turned around and walked away. Everything around her seemed to darken and disappear.

"Wait" He screamed, but it was too late. Hannmyo was gone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Aisha wanted to make sure that she was there when he woke up, so she pulled up a chair and sat next to the table where Jim slept. She wanted to make sure that he was comfortable, so she got one of the extra sheets lying around and covered him. She also picked up one of his jackets, balled it, and placed it under his head. Satisfied that he wouldn't be cold, she took his hand and squeezed it, only to be surprised that he squeezed back. She looked up, and noticed his eyes opening slowly. She didn't know how to react.

"Jim? Is that you" She asked breaking the silence.

Jim just smiled, reached up with his free hand and ruffled her hair. She just looked at him for a second disbelieving, then grabbed him around the chest and held him in a tight hug. "Jim, I thought I might not ever see back to yourself again" She said both crying and laughing.

"Its good to BE back Åisha." He said weeping now. "Its good to be back."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sir, our contacts have sent us a burst transmission."

"I don't have time to listen to it, can you give me the message in a nutshell"

"John and the members of Starwind and Hawking have made contact, and John has gotten 'what he wants'."

"Oh, well that's good news. But do you know what? It matters little, because the Guri Guri are on there way, and they should get her within a few days."

"Please don't loose hope sir. You don't give humans enough credit."

Chapter 5: End.

_Yeah I know guys that its not quite not up to snuff with the last two chapters, but this was kind of a very difficult transition. I wanted to originally make the dream sequence longer, but after looking it over a second time, I decided that it would be giving to much of the story away. (Too bad) Thanks for reviewing guys! Also, on my profile you'll find that I have a homepage now. Go to it, and it contains the terms and short character bios I've used so far in the story. It should be enjoyable to some people who want to get a little extra information that I planned to write, but didn't get a chance to. Here's a preview of the next chapter:_

_The members of Starwind Hawking are relieved to find out that they have regained their second youngest member, Jim, and after turning in all the nesecary items to the local authorities, they take a short, but much deserved rest. But a new threat looms on the horizon that is so dangerous and close, that it could possibly threaten to rip Starwind Hawking apart._

_Next time on on True Strength comes from the Heart: Chapter 6: Message, Rest, Revelation_


	6. Message, Rest, Revelation

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Outlaw Star. I own a Nintendo DS, a retail copy of Xcode, and a nice refreshing bottle of pepsi. (But not Outlaw Star)_

_Read chapter 6 now!_

Chapter 6: Message, Rest, Revelation

_What strange creatures these crewmembers are. I still cannot fathom why they would put themselves in reckless predicaments and dangerous situations. _Gillium processed to himself. He had run the simulations many times before, and although relevant information stated that this Doppleganger individual was dangerous, Gillium had come up with a probability that favored Gene.

Using previous records of Gene and James on file, he was able to achieve the probability of 340,000 to 532 that Gene and James would come back uninjured. _Favoring Gene of course_. The fact is after observing Gene and James take jobs in just about every nature, Gillium had noticed that on jobs concerning bounties, he had a striking success rate of 93, and a surprisingly low percentage of 23 of coming back with a serious injury or 17 chance of death. This was all factored into the total odds that favored Gene. _If that is true, however, how could James come back with such a strange injury? _In Gillium's eyes, accepting a job that had a 23 chance of sustaining injury was too high of a risk. Oh how reckless these organic crewmembers are!

Gillium's algorithms were interrupted by a banging sound on the XGP's main hatch. _Hmm? Are we expecting any guests? _Immediately, Gillium switched to the XGP's single exterior camera by the hatch. There, he noticed a young man, and by his relative height to feet and hand ratio, he appeared to be seventeen. He was saying something discernable, so Gillium switched on the exterior microphone as well.

"Hey! Is anybody there? I'm looking for a Gene Starwind! The registry on you ship says it belongs to him! So where is he?"

At a loss about what to do next, Gillium decided to put his algorithms aside, and alert Gene and Melfina, that they have an unexpected guest.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What do you mean we have an uninvited guest?" Gene asked irritated.

"I mean someone is banging on the hatch, and he is asking for you Gene."

"Maybe you'd better go see who it is Gene." Melfina said worried.

"Dammit! There's always something!" Gene yelled making his way down the hall to the hatch. He pulled out his caster, loaded a shell, and then proceeded to open the hatch. _If it's a pirate or another asshole, I'll be glad to blow him to hell._ Years of fighting and tracking down bounties made Gene skeptical about meeting new people, and given their current situation, he'd be dammed if he allowed anyone else on the Outlaw Star to get hurt. He opened it, and was surprised to find a teenager staring back at him.

"Who the hell are you!" Gene yelled in obvious frustration.

"Are you Gene Starwind?" He asked calmly.

"Answer my goddamn question first!"

"My name is Don, and I used to be a worker here at West Virginia, now are you Gene Starwind or not?"

"Yeah I'm him, what is it that you felt you needed to come here and ask for me? Do you have a job lined up for me?"

"No" He replied almost sarcastically, "I'm here to ask you about the Doppleganger."

Gene was about to slam the hatch on this kid and go back inside to check on Jim, but at the mention of Doppleganger, this kid now had his undivided attention.

"What do you know about Doppleganger kid?" Gene asked lowering his tone.

"I know that you were tracking him to this planet, and I also know that he's the bastard responsible for blowing up the control tower." He was silent for a moment. Gene looked at his face, it was twisted into a scowl, as if he was recalling a very vivid memory. It then turned into a straight frown when he spoke again. "He's the bastard who killed so many people and I want to know where he is so I can kill HIM."

_Who the hell does this kid think he is? He just comes outta no where and thinks that I'm gonna give him his goddamn answers! I'm just gonna tell him Doppleganger's dead, then send this kid home._

"Listen kid, there's something you should know about Doppleganger, he's-"

"Gene! Jim's awake!" Melfina said interrupting.

"WHAT? Let me see!" Gene said running back inside.

"Hey! what about me?" Said Don.

"Oh yeah, you." Gene replied stopping "Hey Gillium! The kid has my permission to come inside!"

"Hey wait a second! What about-" It was too late, Gene had already gone back inside.

Gene ran down the hallway into the hold, with their visitor following close behind. Don was confused. _Starwind is acting totally different then from before, who's Jim? _Don received an answer when he entered their cargo hold and saw a kid not much younger then him. _What the hell? _The kid was talking to a rather attractive woman.

Gene was a little skeptical that Jim could return to himself so quickly. "Okay, how do we know that you aren't Doppleganger?"

"You better not have trashed my Ehefrau while I was out Gene." Jim said threateningly.

"Ha ha! I thought it might have been to good to be true, but it looks like we got our kid member back!"

"I'm not a KID!" He replied annoyed.

"By the way, you gave us quite a scare there Jim, are you feeling alright?" Gene asked

"Actually, I feel like I got a good nights sleep!" Jim exclaimed.

"I'm glad your okay Jim but-" Melfina paused "-do you remember anything that happened?"

"I remember everything that happened." Jim replied with little enthusiasm.

The air on the Outlaw Star suddenly got colder. Everyone tensed up as Jim looked down at his waist. _Apparently, the woman touched on a sensitive subject._

"Oh I'm sorry Jim I didn't mean to-"

"Its okay Mel" Interrupted Jim.

"Okay, just what is going on around here?" Asked Don, who after watching them all converse, was much more confused then he had been before.

"Who's this guy Gene?" Asked Jim. "I've never seen him before."

"Some guy who wants revenge on Doppleganger."

"I see..."

"Should I tell him Jim?" Asked Aisha wanting to make anything easier for Jim.

"No that's alright Aisha, I'll tell him everything."

The last part of the afternoon was spent with Jim talking about Doppleganger, about his true nature, and how they had come across him by tracking him down with the information that they had gotten from an anonymous source. Jim also told their latest guest that very recently had taken a hold of his body, and made him attack his friends. Gene filled in during that part, because that segment of the story was still a little painful for both Aisha and Jim.

"-And that's when I fired this, and watched him drop." Gene said holding up the now without power, EMP gun. "We all don't know for sure yet, but its safe to assume that Doppleganger's dead."

The color in Don's face drained. _How? That bastard knocked me out , and I didn't even see him move. I only just learned that Gene was tracking Doppleganger, and just like that, he claims to have killed him._

"BULLSHIT!" Don screamed. "You guys may claim to be bounty hunters, but I _know _what he could do! That bastard took out all of our local police, he fired his weapons at the control tower, and I was on it! He's crazy, strong, and fast! There's no way a crappy group like yours could ever take a guy like Doppleganger out! And besides he-"

SMACK

Don was interrupted by a fist to the face by an upset Ctarl-Ctarl. His body screamed with pain, and his chest injury flared up. She spoke in a very quiet tone that sent shivers up his spine. "Listen. We just went through hell, and I am not in the mood for this human denial crap."

Don looked up at the woman who hit him. _What the hell? This woman hit me! She doesn't look very strong, but that punch felt like a baseball bat had hit me!_

"You look like you've never seen a Ctarl-Ctarl before." Jim said getting out of his makeshift bed. "Aisha is a Ctarl-Ctarl. They are really strong, so make a mental note in the future not to piss her, or any other member of her race, off."

Aisha let out a slight huff and walked back over to Jim's side.

"I know this is all a little difficult to digest, but you asked for answers, and we gave you some so why don't you-"

"Go home." Interrupted an annoyed Gene.

_So it's true then. _

"Aisha, would you be so kind as to show our guest off my damn ship please?" Asked Gene in an uncharacteristically polite voice.

"Of course Gene. I'd be glad to." Replied Aisha. Although under normal circumstances, Aisha would tell Gene to shove it. However, he had been polite enough to ask her and say please. Which was always rare for him. (Plus this damn kid had already pissed her off) She moved towards him and cracked her knuckles, which was always a sign that someone was about to get their ass kicked.

_Well now what should I do? My living quarters were in a part of the control tower, and its gone now. They might need to lay off some workers to pay for a new tower so what if I-_

"Wait!" Don got up off the ship floor and dusted himself off. "Look I'm really sorry about what I said, and I had no idea about any of this but-"

"Get on with it!" Said Aisha who was loosing what little patience she had.

"Look I'm truly sorry for what happened! But I have a request that I need to ask of you." He said bending into a very deep and humble bow. "Could you please take me with you?"

That last question took everyone by surprise. Aisha didn't know what to do, so she looked towards Gene. After all, no matter what she felt, it was ultimately his decision. Gene was paralyzed. He couldn't grant this kids request! He was about to speak when Melfina spoke up.

"Mr. Don sir? This is all so sudden, but may I ask why?"

"Well, the truth is, at the moment I really don't have a place to stay or a job to go back to."

He stood there like that for a few minutes. Finally, Gene spoke up.

"Alright, why not!" He said laughing.

"Gene! You're not seriously considering it?" Jim pleaded.

"Look Jim, we've been short a fifth member for awhile, and besides it wouldn't hurt to have another extra hand with the work around here." He then turned his attention back to Don. "But lets get something straight, once we collect on this bounty, don't expect a big cut out of it, we got enough expenses around here."

"That's fine by me."

"Speaking of cuts-" Jim said walking towards Gene. "-We need to check that ship out, you know the Kyubi."

"Why Jim? You want to 'liberate' some of Doppleganger's stuff?"

"I just need to check something."

"Alright Jim, I don't know what you expect to find up there, but I don't mind checking." _Plus, it wouldn't hurt to get some extra money for booze._

"Ugh, excuse me, what do you want me to do?" Asked Don

"You? Oh yeah! Call the port and let them know that we're going to be leaving temporarily."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sir we are approaching Sentinel-3 airspace."

Deep in space, a medium sized ship used by the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire ends its journey just out side of Sentinel-3. The ship's name is the Dreadnaught, and it currently carries a group of Ctarl-Ctarl on a very secret mission.

"Commander Levinas? We are entering Sentinel-3 airspace." The young soldier said repeating himself.

"I can see that."

"Um Commander Levinas? May I speak freely sir?"

"You may." He said.

"Sir, why are we out here in the middle of nowhere sir?"

"We're here to pick up someone who has been ignoring her order of recall."

That wasn't the actual reason they were here, that was just the cover story they used in case they met up with any people who wanted to see some real credentials. If they did, they were just imperial diplomats on their way to Heiphong. _That is of course, if conventional sensors detected them._

"I know the official story sir, but why are we really out here?" The young subordinate asked.

"Listen Camu, I know that you want to hear the truth about our query, but you're new to the Guri Guri, so I'll only say this once: don't ask questions. The more you know, the shorter your life is. Is that clear Camu?"

"Yes sir." Camu replied.

Although the Dreadnaught was not the most advanced ship in the service of the Empire, it was the most capable. It was built one hundred years ago by the best scientists and engineers in the galaxy, and at the time it was the largest Ctarl-Ctarl military ship ever built. Naturally, progress meant that something as that wouldn't last forever; but just like Ctarl-Ctarl's longer life-span then humans, the Dreadnaught has withstood the test of time. Since it's original run one hundred years ago, it had received three overhauls. (Including the recent upgrade in sensor, weapons, and cloaking technology.) It had been used by many kinds of Ctarl-Ctarl in the past, including the previous Emperor, the late High-Commander Alex Rowe Sylvana(A half-human), and the Kirith-Toor(A special merchants guild under employment of the Empire). It had even been a civilian ship for a short time. However, the new Emperor saw that the hybrid ship still had some good use left, so he saw fit to make the ship the signature ship of the Guri Guri.

It was true that the Guri Guri were considered to be the defenders of the Capital, but recently because of the movement within the Sith, and the recent pirate guild operations, the Emperor decided to take the gloves off his prized special forces group. The Guri Guri was now sent on clandestine missions all over the galaxy on missions that were considered important to national security.

_Nevertheless, there was nothing about the mission that was considered a matter of national security._

Camu had been right about asking about why they were really out here. He'd been right in suspecting the actual nature of the mission. Maybe, after they were successful, he would tell him.

"Aww, don't get so down Camu! Besides you'd rather be here, then back at the Empire with the Trio!"

"Who's the trio Brett?" Camu asked.

"Oh my GOD! I just thought you were new! I didn't think that you were that much of a rookie." He said slapping him on the back. "The Trio are a group of half-ctarls who specialize in Tau magic. They're really creepy. If it were up to me, I'd stay as far away from those three as possible."

_Amen to that. But it's time to get back to the task at hand._

"Silence on the Bridge! We still have a job to do! Go back to your station Brett and keep me informed." Commander Levinas barked.

"Yes sir!" They both acknowledged.

The Guri Guri usually carried out their missions in small groups of five, backed up by a support team of fifty. With their ship, they were capable of operating up to a year without assistance. Commander Levinas, a calm and collected Ctarl, led this group. By all accounts, members of the Guri Guri had no personal lives, so they only had single names that were pertinent to the job given to them. They lacked the honorific last names that their brethren had.

"Commander Levinas? I've finished getting information from the local net. It seems that the Outlaw Star is definitely on Sentinel-3 and is currently docked at West Virginia Spaceport. This information shows that they are making preparations to blast-off." Patience said; the only female member of the group.

"Good, but I don't believe they're going to leave the system so soon after getting here, keep monitoring the situation and notify me if anything happens, I'll be in my ready room." Levinas remarked

"Yes sir!" All of them said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Jim, before we take off, I'd like to talk to you." Aisha asked him.

"Hmm? Alright Aisha" Jim said putting on a clean shirt.

Ever since Jim woke up, the warehouse experience has been eating at both of their minds. Jim had put on a good face when he woke up, but he just couldn't get that experience out of his mind. _And not just the warehouse either. There was that strange dream. _The dream that had all the strange faces and places, and Hannmyo.

_Hannmyo_

"Jim I..." she paused, "...I wanted to say that I'm sorry." She said looking down towards the ground. "Its my fault that your...friend..., Hannmyo is dead. Oh Jim, if I'd have known I..."

She paused again. "-I wouldn't have hassled you and given you such a hard time over the years."

_This isn't right. Aisha should never cry. She's invincible. The strongest in the universe. _

_The strongest..._

"Listen Aisha. Please don't blame yourself..." Jim paused to try to find the right words. "...It's not your fault. If we hadn't done something, she surely would have killed us. No one is at fault. This is just a tragedy..."

They stood there like that. Thinking silently, looking down, waiting. Although Jim said that no one was at fault, he couldn't help but feel responsible for all of this.

"Please don't cry Aisha." He said handing her a handkerchief. _I need to change the subject._

"You know, when I was out cold, I had a really strange dream. I saw all these people I never met before and-"

He stopped. _Should I tell her that Hannmyo came to me?_

"-I think I received a message. That's why we're heading into orbit. To check out the Kyubi for anything that might help us." He said pulling out the sample from his pocket. _Good it's not broken._ "And another thing Aisha. When we get our cuts and head back to Heiphong, why don't you and me go get something to eat at Sylverant? I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for beef!" He said cheerfully.

_It should be Aisha saying this not me. Come on Aisha! I can't stand to see you like this!_

"Alright, sounds like a good idea to me!" She said ruffling his hair. "But lets get something straight. You're treating!"

_That's the spirit!_

"Okay, well the sooner we finish here, the sooner we can get back!" Jim said making his way to the Bridge.

Already on the bridge setting up Suzuka's station to accommodate their new crewmember.

"Say Gene, it looks like Aisha's back to her normal self!" Melfina said getting into her navigating chamber.

"Bout time! I couldn't stand bein' around Aisha when she was like that! It made me feel all, you know, _guilty._" He said working on Don's station. "Hey Gillium! How do I do this again?"

"You press the commands I told you, then let Don input his own settings. That is all."

"Can't you do this yourself you useless piece-of-junk!" Gene yelled.

"Pardon me! I am not a worthless piece of Junk! I am Gillium-2 and I lack the programming capacity to make such adjustments to new users." Gillium said dryly.

"Whatever. In that case I guess I'm done here." He said hopping into the pilot's seat. "Its time to blast off guys! Come on!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Re-entry into space was short and extremely unnerving for Don. Despite, some of the things he mentally prepared for, nothing could prepare oneself for the actual thing. Gene and the others told Don leaving a planets atmosphere might take a little getting used to.

_I feel like I'm gonna hurl so much! _

"Hey Gene! This guy's an even bigger cherry then you used to be!"

"Hu-Hey! Jim what did I say about calling me that!" Gene said turning his attention away from space.

"Cherry! I'm no cher-" Don then covered his mouth, then quickly exited the bridge. This only fueled the laughter of Jim. Aisha joined in too, as well as Melfina.

"Hey guys, its not that funny!" Gene said turning around.

"Aw come on Gene, didn't that bring back some old memories?"

Gene was about to say witty comeback to undercut Jim's cherry insult, but decided against it. The truth is that Jim was probably thinking that this all felt a little nostalgic. And why not?

_This does bring back some memories. If I remember correctly, our first real adventure started on Sentinel when Hot-Ice Hilda came out of no where and hired me and Jim to be her bodyguards._

And thats how he met Melfina.

"Your right Jim. That brings back a lot of good memories." Gene allowed himself a moment to remember all the adventures that started with finding Melfina years ago. _Well enough of that._

"Hey Mel? Can you see where the Kyubi floated off to?" Gene asked.

"Its not too far, 300 kilometers, 2:00 high."

"Right, well lets get started."

The Outlaw Star made its way to the ship it disabled earlier in the day. They towed it into a stable orbit so it wouldn't fall into the atmosphere or float off into space, but because of the very nature of non gravity enviroments, objects could float potentially thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers out of the way. Gene once again bellowed about his skills as a grappler pilot because the ship was so close to where they left it.. Don reentered the bridge a few minutes later, looking very sick. He was quick to point out that he was no cherry, and sat down in his station. Which caused snickers to be heard for the next five minutes.

"Alright, do you know what you're looking for Jim?" Gene asked.

"Yeah, and if I hurry, I should be in and out in minutes." He said getting his palmtop ready.

"Okay but be careful Jim."

"Oh I will be, I'm taking Aisha as backup. You just worry about keeping an eye out for any SF ships."

_Wouldn't want ANOTHER self-rightous asshole arresting us and calling us pirates._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

The inside of the Kyubi was strikingly similar to that of the Outlaw Star. It featured a main corridor, several living quarters, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a cargo hold; all arranged in a similar fasion to the XGP. There were differences however, Jim noticed that the walls and ceiling in the corridor featured a large panoramic mural of a fox with nine tails, sitting on top of a mountain and snarling with its fangs bared at an unseen enemy.

"What the hell is that?" Aisha asked

"That," he said pointing "is someone's obsession with the old and aesthetic."

_Did the SF paint this? Or was it painted by Doppleganger?_

Jim thought that maybe someone in the SF had an obsession with the ship and a painting gave it character. Jim could definitely relate to that.

_I gotta find those files._

"Aisha, why don't you check out the hold and see if he had anything worth taking. I'll check out the bridge."

She only nodded and walked in the opposite direction. Jim walked down the corridor towards the bridge. As he got closer to his destination, he could hear some strange Old Earth music. _Maybe this is more then just an obsession _he thought.

The player that the music was on, seemed to be broken. It was repeating the same lyric over and over again:

**Until the day I die,**

**I'll spill my heart for you...**

"How the hell old is Doppleganger?" Jim thought out loud. This was all very strange. Maybe the theme of the day was Old Earth music; because everywhere Jim has turned that had to be something that reminded you of Earth, over a thousand years ago. _There's no way he can be that old. _

But come to think of it, during his dream, he was in an old neighborhood that was straight out of a history book, complete with natural grass and gasoline powered cars. It was probably just a coincedence, or just a dream based on a tv show he must have seen.

"Hello intruder."

Jim was startled by a voice that seemed to come from his right. He pulled out his antique 9mm and pointed it at the source.

His hand twitched at a very dim lit computer console.

_Is this it?_

"Please input password, intruder."

The voice was dry and monotone. _This must be the AI, _he thought.

"Please input password, intruder." The message repeated.

_Password?_

Jim thought he might have to do some hacking when he got on the Kyubi. After all, nothing comes free. He didn't think that the AI would react to him in such a way. He could still hack the Kyubi's computer, and get what he wanted, but that could take anywhere between minutes or days, and they simply didn't have the time. So, Jim decided to try his luck with the password. _Lets see... is it..._

"Kyubi?" Jim said out loud.

"Password incorrect. Please input correct password."

"Nine-tails"

"Password incorrect. Please input correct password."

Jim's mind went through hundreds of words, but none of them seemed to fit. _Wait a minute_

"Coby" Jim blurted after careful consideration.

"Password correct. Unlocking diary, message # 9, and software AI. One moment please."

"Well that was easy!" Jim said mentally patting himself on the back.

"Files specified have been saved to disk media in slot two. Please obtain media." Just like the computer said, a small circular storage disk popped out of a hole labeled #2. Jim picked it up and placed it into a secure jewel case in his front shirt pocket.

"Alright! Aisha! I got what I need, lets get outta here!"

"Gotcha!" Aisha screamed from down the hallway. "There's nothing on my end. What an asshole that Doppleganger is! He didn't leave us any treasure, like jewels or Dragonite!"

Jim chuckled at that last remark.

"Hey Jim! Are you done yet? We gotta go!" Jim's radio piped

"Okay Gene, we're done here. Warm up the engines, we'll be back 30." Jim said running off the bridge. He stopped suddenly and looked back on the bridge and noticed the music player hooked up to the console.

_Might make a good souvenir _he thought as he grabbed it and ran out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are they done yet Brett?" Levinas asked sounding very bored.

"They've just finished. It looks like they're about to make planet-fall."

_Well they sure do like to take their time._

"Everyone get ready, its time to execute our mission. I want the drop-ship prepped in 5." Levinas barked.

"Yes sir!"

Chapter 6: End.

_There ya go! Sorry for the late update guys. I just recently got back into Disgaea, and I finally made it to the final chapter in the game. (After one and a half years!) Thanks for reviewing guys. But you don't think that you have to review, the story will continue regardless (I want you to though!). If you haven't checked out my homepage, do so now. The next chapter is gonna be action packed, so look forward to it in about two weeks (at the least)._

_I'm out._


	7. The Guri Guri

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Outlaw Star. I own 20 Lone-Star Comics 10 off coupons, and chicken flavored ramen, but not Outlaw Star._

_OKAY! I know there have been a lot of you out there that were screaming, "When the hell are gonna update Valkan! Get off your lazy ass and update!" Well I make no excuses (except that whole, you know, 'college thing') But seriously, I've been working really hard on this chapter, and I hope ya'll can tolerate it. Enjoy:D_

Chapter 7: The Guri Guri

Planet-fall came all to quickly for Gene, who half-expected some kind of dangerous trap to spring out of the lifeless Kyubi. After-all, it was almost commonplace for bounties and pirates alike to prepare nasty surprises for young outlaws in situations just like this.

_But here comes Doppleganger again with his high and mighty attitude probably thinking that his precious ship could never be captured by the likes of us. _

But none of that happened, and for the first time, checking out someone else's ship had actually gone quite well. Sure Doppleganger didn't have anything extra that was of any value, but at least Jim got what he was after. It was a huge shame though, if Doppleganger was wanted in several systems, he should have at least acquired some _side property._ _I suppose its alright to assume a guy like that isn't very materialistic. Even though he had that relic of a music player _Gene thought to himself.

It was a little too late to launch, so they all decided that the best thing to do would get some shut eye at a decent hotel. It was a little penny-pinching idea, but Gene wanted to have a large enough cut to enjoy the lighter side of life (booze).

The hotel was decent enough. It's name was the _Candle-light Inn,_ and it wasn't like the sleazy hotels that young teens or Outlaws visited to score, but rather a place for travelers and officials who had medium sized pockets could stay at in relative comfort.

"Are you sure its alright to stay here tonight Gene?" Melfina asked looking concerned "I mean it looks expensive."

"Don't worry Mel, its not as expensive as it looks." Gene said putting his arm around her shoulder. "I got the okay from Jim, plus Aisha and the New-Guy aren't complaining."

Gene had been nice enough to pay for two rooms: one for him and Melfina, and the other for Aisha, Jim, and Don. Even though he had become a full member of the team, Aisha still didn't like being around him.

"Man its been a long day. Can't wait to relax with a smoke and a beer." Don said putting a bag down on the couch.

"Underage kids shouldn't be drinking." Gene said under his breath.

"Excuse me! I bet I've probably been drinking longer then a scrawny guy like you!" Don yelled in defense.

"Yeah right. Your just a teen, and I'm in my twenties. What makes you think you've been drinking longer then me?"

"Hmph. I bet some idiot like you can't even hold his liquor." Don replied.

Gene walked into Jim and Aisha's room and grabbed Don by the neck of his shirt. "Look you little punk, I was in a good mood until you spoiled it. You don't look like much, but since this is a happy occasion, why don't you test your theory about me?"

"Gene!"

"Not now Jim. So? How bout it? I challenge you to Quarters!"

Jim sighed very loudly at the sound of Gene's challenge. Melfina who was busy making the bed in the room next to Jim's, heard Gene and Don screaming and came to see just what was going on.

"Jim? What's Quarters?" Melfina asked.

"Its an old drinking game." Jim answered with little enthusiasm.

"There's a bar in the hotel, so we don't have to worry about them going and wrecking your car." Aisha said.

"Thats not what I'm worried about."

"I'm hungry. Mel? When are we gonna have dinner?" Aisha asked.

Melfina thought for a moment. She then shrieked in surprise. "OH my god! I was making dinner in the Outlaw Star, and I left it all there! It'll be spoiled by the time we go back there!"

"What did you make Mel?" Jim asked sitting up from his bed.

"Chicken Catchitory with rice."

"You made us dinner and you left it there!" Aisha screamed.

"Yes I did, I'm so sorry everyone!"

"Don't worry about it Mel, we'll just order out. Its no big deal." Jim said.

"Are you sure its okay?"

"Yeah we don't mind Mel, your cooking is great, but you should take a break every once in awhile." He said smiling.

"Well okay, I'll go read my book. Don't get carried away guys." Melfina said exiting Jim and Aisha's room.

Jim laid back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. _A lot has happened today. _Indeed, a lot has happened. In just a few minutes after arriving at Sentinel, they've gotten into a grappler fight with a ship that was being piloted by an AI. In less then an hour after arrival, Aisha, Gene, and himself fought Doppleganger and barely won. _Then there was the whole possession thing._ Jim shuddered at the thought. He tried to banish the feeling into the back of his mind, but it just wouldn't go away. When he was possessed, he remembered everything that happened. He remembered _screaming _at Doppleganger to stop when he was hurting Gene and Aisha. He was _sick. _He was laughing like he enjoyed every bit of what was happening. Like he enjoyed making Jim feel helpless and weak.

_Wait a minute..._

_Doppleganger left a message when he lost control. What was it? I can't remember! _

"Hey Jimmy?"

"Yes Aisha?"

"What was Hannmyo like?"

Aisha's query caught Jim totally by surprise, it was so completely random and out of the ordinary that it left him speechless.

"I'm sorry Jimmy if its too soon I'll-"

"It's alright, your question just caught me by surprise though. I don't mind, really." He said pulling out the music player he had pilfered from Dopplegangers ship.

"She was one of a kind. When I first saw her, she was dancing at Symca 5's central park, her movements were so graceful and fluid, that I found myself staring. When she noticed that I was staring, she just kind of half introduced herself and it just took off from there." Jim said almost expecting Aisha to tease him in some way. He turned his attention away from the music player and towards Aisha, but none of the playfulness that he could usually gauge in her expression was there. She was listening to him honestly and intently.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Hmm? Oh nothing." He said turning the player over to look at the back. "As you know, we met again a day later, and I guess you could say that we went out on a date."

_I could probably listen to this with a few repairs._

"It was really fun. I don't know what it is about her, but somehow she made me forget about everything that had happened to us. About the pirates, about Melfina, about the ship, hell even about our debt!" He paused, _why all the seriousness all of the sudden?_

Aisha's mind was running at a thousand miles a minute. She had a flurry of questions most of which she decided that it was best not to ask them.

_He's avoiding something, or rather, he's not telling me something._

"You know, over these three years, I often think about what it would be like if she was still around. It was always at the back of my mind. I kept thinking about what I could have done differently, or what I did wrong but-"

_But what Jim?_

"-but I think, in a way, I always _knew._ I mean, don't get me wrong, when I got the news I felt like just shutting myself off from the rest of the world. I mean, when I met her she was so nice and _happy. _How can someone like that be a pirate?"

Aisha shrugged, that was a very good question. If she was anything like he described, there was no way that a little girl like that could even be involved with the kei pirates. Let alone be a member of the Anten Seven.

_But something doesn't quite add up. Jim, your talking like you've already come to terms with her being gone, but you only just received the news today. What's the deal?_

"Jim there's something you're not telling me."

"W-What are you talking about Aisha?" He said stammering in surprise "I've told you everything."

"No you haven't, so please don't lie to me. Please Jimmy, tell me the truth; what exactly did you see when you were unconscious?"

Aisha looked Jim square in the eyes when she asked her question because she wanted to know. Jim turned away and looked down at his hands.

"When I was out, I saw lots of things. People, places, faces...some of them were familliar...but the rest were...unknown... to me." He clenched his fists then spoke quieter, "I know it wasn't real, but it _felt _real. Like I had been there before."

He sat there for a few moments, doing what looked like he was working up the courage to say what was on his mind.

"But that's not all I saw. I saw _her._" He then closed his eyes and lowered his tone almost to a whisper. "I saw Hannmyo."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"NO NO NO! DRINK ALL OF IT!"

The newest member of Starwind & Hawking spent the rest of the evening in the Hotel bar competing in Gene's drinking games. It was well into the night, and Don was ready to call it quits, but Gene wouldn't have any of that. He continued to make Don drink the hardest liquor that the bartender had.

"Hmph! I thought you could back up your words, but you're just a wuss." Gene said downing another shot of whisky.

"S-Shut up! I'm not a -hic- wuss! I just haven't -hic- been feelin to well since we vent into shpace!"

"Ah forget it! You get drunk to easily!" He said laughing. "Well, I gotta get back to Melfina for some alone time, you think you can make it back to your room okay rookie?"

"Yeah." He looked down at his drink for a moment then spoke up. "Hey boss, thanks for takin me in when I needed it."

Gene only stood there and looked at him for a for what seemed like forever. Finally he walked over and sat back down. He let out a slow sigh and spoke very quietly. "Look kid, I did what I did because I know what its like to be down on your luck with no place to go. Me and Jim were like you a really long time ago."

"Get outta here! You guys are bounty hunters! There's no way you guys were like that!"

"Thats where you're wrong." Gene said motioning the bartender to bring another drink. "First of all, everyone at some time or another has to start out at the bottom with a dream. Me, Jim, Melfina, hell even Aisha where in different positions before we all got tangled up with the kei pirates."

He picked up his glass and swallowed his drink in one gulp and held the glass in his hand. He looked at it once, then set it down slowly and exhaled. "Look Don, before I met Melfina, me and Jim were just scraping around Locus for whatever jobs that came our way. Jim was the one who came up with our motto: We'll fix anything, from cars to relationships."

"You guys were like that?"

"Yeah. Then like outta the blue, we get this bodyguard job to protect this women, then before I knew what was going on, I had my own ship and was off on a crazy treasure hunt for the universes ultimate treasure."

"You don't mean the Galactic Leyline do you?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

"Hahahahaha! That's rich! A small group of bounty hunters like yourselves went looking for the Galactic Leyline? That's the funniest story I've heard for weeks!" He yelled banging the bar countertop.

Gene got up from the bar stool that he was sitting on, and walked out.

"Whoa whoa whoa, where you goin? I thought we were gonna drink some more? Besides I want you to tell me about some of your 'space adventures'." He put up his hands and motioned quotations, emphasizing the words.

"Maybe some other time. Me and Mel are gonna spend some quality time together." Don only scoffed at this.

"Oh and one other thing Don; we're not bounty hunters, we're Outlaws."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was all quiet at the Candle-Light Inn. Everyone had already retired to bed except for Don and Aisha. Don, had passed out drunk in the bar, while Aisha just laid down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. The conversation between her and Jim that had taken place in their room hours before had long ended. After the pizza came, they spoke little about what had happened earlier in the day. Melfina decided not to eat with them, until Gene came back from the hotel's bar, so she stayed in her room reading her book. Jim, despite everything that had happened earlier, remained in relatively high spirits. He even ordered the pizzas and payed for them accordingly.

Him and Aisha talked a little bit more when they ate, but just to make small talk about how bland the pizzas were, or how even after three years, this section of Locus had changed little. Jim finished his dinner, and decided to go to bed early, because fatigue had finally set in, leaving Aisha alone with her thoughts.

_Jim why are you doing this to yourself?_

It was easy to see that Jim was just putting on a good face just to make everyone around him not worry. It was actually just making things _worse. _

_The way he was describing her was like she was on some shining pedestal._

_Jim hadn't said a word about her after he told me he saw her in his dream_. _That's gotta be pretty hard, seeing someone you hadn't seen in years so suddenly. _Aisha thought.

The hours went by, and Aisha was still awake. She just couldn't sleep. _I think Mel is still awake, maybe I'll go talk to her. _Aisha got up out of her bed and was about to turn the doorknob and step out into the hallway, when she heard Gene and Melfina talking.

_Damn. I guess thats out._

She turned around and walked towards the sofa. _Hmph. I bet that new kid wouldn't have any qualms about sleeping on the sofa. _Aisha thought while getting out a blanket. She tossed it onto the couch and walked over to her bedside. She looked at it once, then turned around and got a good look at Jim sleeping soundly.

_I wonder what he's dreaming about?_

Aisha reached down and gently ran her hands through Jim's golden locks. He unconsciously moved towards her hand as she stroked his hair. This caused her to chuckle slightly. _Even when your asleep, your cute._ _Jimmy, you've been through things that no one should ever go through in their lifetime._

Aisha continued to stroke his hair until she heard a faint, but very annoying buzzing sound. At first she just thought it was her imagination, but the sound continued to get louder. "What the hell is that?" She said looking for the source. She turned around and looked at the window. Then the noise stopped. She smelled something familiar.

_Symtex! _

Aisha grabbed Jim (covers and all) and dove behind the bed towards the door.

**BOOM**

The faint sounds of Locus, and the quiet of the hotel was interrupted by a large explosion. Jim woke up with a start. "Aisha what the hell is going MUMFHH-" She covered his mouth and motioned him to be quiet.

"Patience, you said this is their room. I don't see them anywhere."

"If you'd have used a quieter method, you probably would have caught them in their sleep."

"Shut up! The explosives were meant to take out our target's comrades! Is it possible they haven't returned to their room yet?"

"Give me a moment."

_Comrades? Who are they after?_

"Yes they're definitely here. They must be hiding. Lets search the room."

_Shit!_

Aisha could hear the two intruders moving. Judging by their muffled footsteps, they must have been searching the room slowly and cautiously. They obviously had information on everyone on Gene's team, because they didn't bother with a silent approach. _Which means that they know that at least one of us is a Ctarl-Ctarl. If I hadn't noticed that sound, I'd be out cold right now!_ The sound of their footsteps got louder as they moved closer to Jim's bed. Aisha didn't dare reach her head above and get a good look at the two intruders, for to do so would immediately give away their position. But she had to do _something, _or she and Jim would be discovered.

_I could fight my way out! Wait, if I do that, it would put Jim in danger. I can't tell how strong these guys are. I can't see them, and because of the smells from the explosives, I can't smell them either. _

If Aisha was alone, she would have problem with kicking their asses. However, her senses were useless to her, Jim can't use his palmtop, and the intruders are closing in. She hated to admit it, but she and Jim were now in a _bind._

_Dammit! Where the hell is that idiot redhead when you need him!_

At almost remarkable timing, their hotel room door was kicked open with surprising force. Splinters of wood were scattered everywhere as the door flew off its hinges revealing a caster pointed at the center of the room.

"A CASTER!" One of the intruders exclaimed.

Just as the first intruder yelled her warning, Gene fired his gun with almost reflex speed and pinpoint accuracy. The night sky was illuminated with a large streak of red and white energy. Neither one of the intruders were fast enough to dodge the blast. Aisha thanked God, that they were on the receiving end of the blast and not her.

"You two all right?" Gene said entering the room with his caster still aimed at the hole where their window and half their wall used to be.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" Aisha yelled at the top of her lungs while scrambling to her feet.

"Perfect timing Gene!" Jim said

"I try, I try." Gene bellowed holstering his caster. "Here's your palmtop Jim, we need to know whether or not they SOMEHOW survived that."

Jim immediately got to work. His hands glided across the keyboard with the single purpose of finding and analyzing their surroundings. On his screen something strange came up.

_What the hell is that? No it can't be!_

"This is bad Gene! They were Ctarl-Ctarl, and they've got some friends on the roof!" Jim yelled.

"WHAT? Dammit! Aisha why didn't you say anything about this?" Gene yelled in frustration.

"Shuddup! I couldn't tell because that explosion caused my senses to go outta wack!"

"Whatever! It probably damaged that hard animal head of yours!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN ANIMAL!"

"GUYS! This is no time for that! We need to leave now! " Jim yelled putting his work clothes on, and grabbing their weapons suitcase.

"Fine. You guys go get Don, Me and Mel will meet you outside at the car."

"Where is he?"

"Passed out at the hotel bar."

"Gene!"

"Hey it wasn't my fault!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ughh...What happened?"

"You and I were grazed by a number-3 shell from a caster. Consider yourself lucky, if you were hit directly you probably wouldn't be awake now. Can you move Brett?"

"Not a muscle."

"Now do you understand the importance of making a silent entry?"

"I thought it wouldn't make a difference if we snuck in, or used other methods. She'd still hear us coming."

"Ugh. Your impossible. You know you almost jeprodized the mission?"

"NO, please tell me!" Brett yelled in a sarcastic tone. "Shut up! We're alive aren't we? Doesn't that count for something?"

"Whatever" Patience said fishing her pockets for her communicator. "Commander? This is Patience. Our huey has been alerted. They are making their escape."

"What's going on? Has something happened?"

"We took some fire from Starwind and his Caster. It wasn't serious, but Brett is temporarily paralyzed."

"Understood. I'm sending in a drop ship to pick Brett up, and a second support team."

_What the hell? Why the hell do we need an extra support team to deal with scum like Starwind?_

"That won't be necessary sir! Me, Camu, and and support team Silver are enough to handle the job!" She yelled into her comm unit.

"I'll be the judge about what's necessary Patience! One of my team is wounded on an in-an-out mission! We came all the way out here and completing this mission takes priority. Failure is not an option! One more outburst like that and I'll have you thrown in the brig for insubordination! Is that clear Patience?"

"Crystal Sir."

"Good, now I expect the rest of the mission to go smoothly. Levinas out."

The radio went silent. The familiar bark of Levinas' voice was gone leaving both Brett and Patience at a loss about what to do. Levinas obviously didn't trust Patience and Camu enough to let them finish the mission on their own. _Thanks to Brett's stupidity. _She thought.

"Looks like the Commander's pissed."

"Shut up! This is all your fault you know that right?"

Brett only shrugged at this. Patience was about to say something else, when she realized that they had more important things to do.

"Camu, please tell me you were listening." She spoke into the communicator.

"Yeah Patience, I heard everything. So what do we do?"

"We forget about Starwind and the Android, and we go after Clan Clan."

"Wait a minute! I thought the commander said-"

"I know what the commander said! And he didn't say we couldn't capture Clan Clan before the drop-ship arrives."

"Understood. They're trying to make their way to their vehicle. I'll meet you in the parking lot. Camu out."

With that, Patience placed her communicator back into her pocket and stood up. _Time to go._

"Are you gonna be alright until the drop-ship arrives Brett?"

"Worry more about retrieving Clan Clan before it gets here."

"Oh I am. And when this is over, you and I are gonna have a long talk about keeping the element of surprise."

"I look forward to it." Brett replied sarcastically.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Come on Mel!"

"Slow down Gene! I can't run as fast as you." Melfina screamed. Just then, she dropped a small bag that she was carrying. She turned to get it, but Gene grabbed her hand coaxed her to run again. "We can always get new stuff Mel. Leave it!"

On the bottom floor of the hotel, their were two entrances, it had a back door in addition to the lobby entrance used by paying customers. The back door was used by people wanting to come in late for whatever reason. Gene decided to take this entrance.

_There's a good chance that they may be behind this door, but if I'm lucky I'll only have to deal with one or two. One or two I can deal with. _

Gene and Melfina opened the back door slowly and stepped into the cold night air. Gene was thankful to be outside, for being inside the cramped interiors of the hotel was grating on his nerves. Unlike inside, he was familiar to the sounds of Locus late at night. To him, they were as natural as the sun rising, or as natural as rain. Out here, no one would be able to get close to Gene and Melfina without him knowing.

They each made their way along the back of the building, and outside Gene had opted to move much slower and cautiously. They came to the corner facing the parking-lot and stopped. He motioned Melfina too stay put as he looked around the corner. _Lets see. There should be very few cars out considering its a weekday, I should be able to see the car. _

_Shit!_

"What is it Gene?"

"Four of them are guarding the car. I could take um out, but that would be my last shell."

"So what do we do?"

"We need to warn Jim." Gene fished in his pocket for the ear communicator that he usually wore when he was the point man and Jim was the backup. He tapped it once and listened to the feedback to make sure it was on. "Jim can you hear me? Its Gene."

"Yeah I hear you. What s going on?"

"Those Ctarl got your car heavily guarded. Please tell me you got some extra shells."

"We still have two shells; a number-8 and a number-12."

"Thats it?"

"Sorry Gene, you used up your other ones earlier."

"I guess that'll do. Hows Don doing?"

"He's awake, but he can barely walk straight. He's gonna be-"

_Creak_

"Hey Jim I'll get back to you."

"Wait Gene! What about-" Jim was cut off as Gene quickly silenced his ear comm.

"What is it Gene? I thought that-"

"Shhh!" Gene motioned Melfina to be quiet. He then unholstered his double barreled pistol and aimed it at the fire escape on the side of the building. _I thought I heard something._

A minute passed with Gene aiming his weapon at an unknown source. His hand was steady, revealing confidence and unwavering demeanor that could only be Gene's. Another minute passed. _Whoever this guy is is an amateur. _The shadow melted out of the darkness and dropped down in front of Gene and Melfina. It was revealed to be someone with a slim frame, enshrouded by a hood that covered the figures features.

"Very good Starwind. I was sure that I completely masked my presence."

"Hmph. Your pretty good yourself. I didn't notice you until a few minutes ago. So how long have you been watching us Suzuka?"

"Suzuka!" Melfina voiced in surprise.

"It's been a long time Melfina. Gene." Suzuka said removing her hood, revealing her slim and elegant features of her face. "I've been watching you since earlier this afternoon when you took down my bounty."

"You know the rule Suzuka, first come first serve."

"Bounty issues aside its good to see you both well."

" Yeah its good to see you too. But you picked a hell of a time to show up again. Those damn Ctarl' have got us cut off from our only escape out of here save our own legs."

"I noticed. But I've got a feeling that they're not after either of you."

"Explain."

"Well think about it. First of all, they used explosives to blow a huge hole in Jim and Aisha's room. I don't need to tell you about the refined senses the Ctarl-Ctarl have. The explosives were meant to knock Aisha's senses out."

"And?"

"And then there's the fact that there all wearing unmarked special uniforms. People in garb like that can only be under the jurisdiction of a high form of government. Like the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire for example."

"So."

"So?" Suzuka snapped. "Don't you get it Gene? Their after Aisha!"

"Thats right!"

Another voice, although unfamiliar, sounded from the darkness. Gene snapped around to point his gun at the source, but he was too late. A figure came up behind him and twisted his arm behind his back, and then wrenched the gun from his hands. The figure then kicked Gene forward, knocking him off his feet. Gene sprang forward into a summersault, and quickly reached for another pistol. "Uh-uh Starwind. Put down that gun. Your surrounded. If you try something stupid, your woman dies." The figure that had taken Gene by surprise and taken his weapon, had the voice and the figure of a woman; but Gene couldn't make out her features. Her face was covered by a ski mask.

"Gene!" Melfina screamed.

"Melfina!" Gene yelled turning around. Another figure had Melfina in a headlock. She was struggling to get free. "You assholes! Let her go!"

"If you cooperate, we will" One of the male figures said.

"Check him." The female figure said. "Be thorough."

"But ma'am. None of his weapons can hurt us, except for his caster."

"I don't care. Scum like Starwind aren't to be underestimated."

"Yes ma'am." The other said checking Gene for other weapons.

Suzuka remained still. She was caught. _I can't believe this. If we hadn't been so loud they wouldn't have noticed us. Dammit! But it doesn't matter. I only need one stroke. One..._ Suzuka thought as her hand slowly reached for the hilt of her bokkudo.

"And you! Hands were I can see um! In the air now!" The female figure yelled, pointing Gene's gun and Suzuka. Suzuka scoffed, then begrudgedly raised her hands. "I'll have no foolish heroics from the likes of you 'Twilight Suzuka'."

Suzuka let out a slight huff at the sound of her former assassin name. "I never expected to hear that name from a Ctarl-Ctarl's lips. But then again. I didn't expect 'Patience of the Guri Guri' to come out here to Sentinel either."

"Oh? You recognized me? Then I guess there's no use hiding my face any longer." she said removing her mask. The light was dim, but Gene could clearly make out her features: she had short platinum hair, a small pointed nose, and large emerald eyes.

"You two know each other Suzuka?" Gene asked quietly.

"Lets just say that fate always puts us on opposite sides."

"Enough talk. Where is Clan-Clan."

Gene tapped his ear communicator to turn it off. Hopefully Jim got the message and new to head to their fallback point if something ever happened to Gene. _Come on. I just need to buy him some time. _

"Tell us why your after her, then maybe I might." He asked taunting her.

"Don't screw with me Starwind. I don't have to explain anything to scum like you."

"Watch who you're calling scum, bitch." Gene said lowering his voice threateningly.

Patience spun, then brought up her foot in a swift roundhouse kick to Gene's head. The kick connected, sending Gene spiraling to the ground, knocking him unconscious.

"Gene!" Melfina screamed struggling once more against her captive to get free. "Let me go!"

"Camu. They're not cooperating. Take Onyx, and track Clan Clan down. Follow her scent. She couldn't have gotten far."

"Yes ma'am." And with that, the two other Ctarl's vanished into the dark city streets of Locus.

Suzuka narrowed her eyes and shot an icy stare in her direction.

"What? Don't stare at me like that dear Suzuka. You of all people should know how I work."

However Suzuka remained silent. Staring with an eerie silence that sent shivers down Melfina's spine.

Chapter 7: End.

_There you have it! I know some of you may be saying, "I waited a month for this?" He he :P It was Originally going to be a lot longer. But then I realized "I hadn't updated in a month." _

_So I found a suitable stopping point, and decided to save the rest for the next chapter. So neener._

_Anyshizzle, preview time._

_Old friends meet to face a new enemy. Someone tied to Suzuka's past is working on the Guri Guri to capture Aisha Clan-Clan. A mysterious woman named 'Patience' who ironically doesn't behave like her namesake. A woman who walks the line to get her job done. A woman who is willing to do anything to climb the ladder. As Gene lies on the ground unconscious, Suzuka's eyes reflect the darkness of the night. Whatever past these two women share, it is enough to chill Melfina to the bone. What lies ahead for Starwind and Hawking? Will Jim and Aisha get away? Or will everything that they have worked for these past three years fall apart in one night? Find out next time on True Strength comes from the Heart Chapter 8: _

_I'll trade everything for a fistfull a' wong._


	8. I'll trade everything for Wong

_DISCLAIMER: I do not Outlaw Star. I own an electric guitar (seriously!) and two stacks of notebook paper. But not Outlaw Star._

_Ir rashai! Its been too long. Lets see, the last time I updated my OS fanfic was March I THINK. Some of you may or may not remember what has happened, so here's a quick recap:_

_Gene and the gang were tracking down a bounty to Sentinel-3. There they got into several fights with a bounty head called Doppleganger, an organism that can inhabit and control bodies. In short, Jim was possessed, and in his possessed state, he learned that his first crush, Hannmyo, was in fact a pirate. It would have been fine if it was left at that, but he and everyone else quickly finds out that they were the ones who killed her. With some quick thinking by Gene, Doppleganger is now dead. _

_While Jim's unconscious, he meets Hannmyo. Whether this was just a trick or a real spiritual experience has yet to be seen. However she tips them off to something hidden in the Kyubi: a music player, a software A.I., and a message. Each one of these things can't be used now, so the gang turns in the necessary bounty information, and decides to rest at a local hotel. _

_Gene challenges Don to a drinking game, and he gets drunk, while Aisha and Jim order pizza for dinner. It is here in there room that all hell breaks loose. When Jim is in bed asleep, the Guri-Guri (Ctarl-Ctarl special forces) launch a surgical strike against the members of Starwind & Hawking. Gene once again save's the day with his castor. Jim decides to split up. Gene goes to warm up the car, while Jim and Aisha get Don. _

_When Gene and Melfina open the back door and step out into the night air of Locus, they meet up with Suzuka, their old comrade and friend. It is here that the true nature of the Guri-Guri's assault is revealed. They are found out however, and Gene is knocked unconscious by Patience, an officer in the Guri-Guri who is somehow tied to Suzuka's past. _

_Enjoy :D_

Chapter 8: I'll trade everything in for a fistful-a wong.

"Dammit! Gene's not answering his communicator!" Jim yelled in frustration. "What the hell is going on?"

An outburst of sound filled the humble inn as Jim expressed his content with Gene for obviously turning off his communicator. _What the hell is going on? _Jim tried the communicator again. "Come on Gene answer!"

Nothing.

"Jimmy did something happen?" Aisha asked slinging Don over her shoulder in a haphazardly fashion.

"I can't get a hold of Gene." Jim pondered for a moment. "Come on Aisha."

"Wait where are we going?" She asked.

"Something probably did happen. There was a place we could go if something ever happened to Gene."

"Okay, so where is this place? And how far is it?"

"Its at an apartment building a little over two kilometers north from here. We can't get to my car, so we're gunna have to hoof it."

"Running that far is no problem. Even with this useless drunk kid on my back."

"I'm afraid I don't share you're enthusiasm Aisha." Jim replied slumping his shoulders. Jim was considerably healthy, but he still found himself lacking in a few areas. Namely fighting and cross country. But the distance wasn't far, and the thought of a few crazed, highly trained Ctarl might be chasing them would add a spring to his step. _No use waiting around here, _he thought moving out into the cold night air. He took a few moments to gather his bearings, then turned towards his destination, and started running.

Aisha quickly fell in step behind Jim, reinforcing her hold on Don in his stupor. Her ears weren't ringing as much as they were earlier, so she focused almost all of her attention to listening to her surroundings. _They probably picked up our scent and are following us by now. _She thought as they just passed about 500 meters.

Jim was slowly outlining a plan in his mind. He had counted his ammo and ordinance earlier; he had four clips of .45 ammo, two flash grenades, and a single HE grenade. More then enough to take out three or four decently trained humans, but not nearly enough to take out a single Ctarl-Ctarl. A castor would be very useful in this situation, but Jim never saw the need to buy one because Gene was the point-man and Jim was the backup. He cursed himself for not considering the possibility that he would be in a situation like this. With that realization he quickened his pace.

More time passed, and more distance was covered. With every meter that they passed, Jim pieced together another aspect of his hastily constructed plan. _The enemy's movements are unusual. For a group that's supposed to be highly trained, their field commander is lacking in foresight. They should have anticipated Gene being nearby, it was reckless for them to use such a crude method like explosives against us. But now that they know that Gene is packing extra firepower, they should be on edge. _But something didn't add up. It was obvious to Jim that they were not after Melfina. The attack on their room was evidence of that. Don was also out of the question, he was only a Dock worker yesterday, there was just no way to piss them off so much to bring their best out to a place like Sentinel. _Which leaves just me and Aisha. They might have found out about my involvement with the Leyline, but that just makes me on equal ground with both Gene and Mel. Which means..._

"Aisha!" Jim yelled.

"Yeah Jimmy?"

"I think that those bastards are after you Aisha."

"Good that makes things simpler. It means I won't have to hold back!"

Jim smiled to himself. Aisha really knew how to lift up someone's mood. Whatever plan that Jim would come up with, it would still be no match for a group of Ctarl. It might be good enough to slow them down, but that's it. The rest of their run was spent in quiet. Each moment was an hour for Jim to formulate and calculate another plan. Only to come up with the same solution: they were outnumbered and outclassed in strength and speed. _If they're chasing us, they must be gaining. _Jim thought as he turned another corner. _Thats fine. We're almost there anyway. _

Jim's plan would involve the entire building in which their 'safe house' was located in. The building itself was dilapidated, and the company that owned the building 7 years ago went bankrupt. Which meant that the decision of leveling the building was left entirely up to the city of Locus. But Locus had always had labor problems when it came to construction. The Salizar Workers Union had all but crippled Locus' budget over a year and a half ago because of a massive strike. The bankruptcy of the building contractor, coupled with the construction workers strike left the apartment building relatively untouched. Both Jim and Aisha saw it at the same time. In unison both of them thought _God what a dump. _

There in the morning sky was among the other buildings of Locus was a five story husk that seemed to be dissolving into nothing in their very eyes. Its windows were all shattered and its brick was crumbling down the side. It wouldn't take much to bring this building down. Any normal person would have stayed far away from a place like this. But for Jim it was perfect.

Inside in apartment 205, would be everything that Jim would need. Guns of every type and calibur, but more importantly _explosives. _Lots of explosives. Jim smiled inwardly at the thought of a very large building collapsing on several unexpected visitors. They both entered the building at the same time, Jim opened its doors and immediately doubled over to catch his breath. They had been running for almost 25 minutes, and Jim had never really ran that far nonstop before. But he couldn't let himself rest just yet.

He picked himself up and hastily started his plan. _Time to go to work._

"Aisha take off your shirt please."

"My, I didn't know you were that kind of guy Jimmy, I thought we were going to start dating before you started asking me for things like that." She said smiling devilishly.

"Huh?" Jim said out-loud. He was still tired so it took a few seconds for Jim's brain to register what he just asked for, and what Aisha's reply was. When it finally hit, it hit poor Jimmy's brain _hard. _"I-I-mean-that-is-I-mean for-my-plan-and-and.." he was waving his arms around frantically as if they would somehow convey the message in a non-perverted way.

Aisha overcome by a fit of giggling. "Its alright Jimmy, I think I know what you have in mind." She said placing Don on the ground.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Okay they definitely came this way. You smell 'um right?"

"Yeah" Camu replied to his underling, Onyx.

"They're hold up in this building. I'm guessing that they're on one of the upper floors resting up." Said Onyx.

With the scent of their quarry wafting into their noses, Onyx and his companion entered the dilapidated building to continue the chase. They had been chasing Clan-Clan and her companions for a few minutes, and after tracking their footprints, and smelling sweat, Onyx conjectured that they were panicking. Unlike their moronic companion Brett, they had read and reread the briefing on Clan-Clan's companions. She would most likely be with Jim Hawking; son of The Wizard, a galaxy renown hacker. He has yet to reach the fame that his father had, but he was a part of Starwind's crew when they entered the Leyline, so he was considered extremely dangerous and should be dealt with caution. Onyx deducted that he would have some sort of trap waiting for them. But it didn't matter, as far as Onyx knew, he had no weapons that could harm a Ctarl-Ctarl.

"I smell plastique." Camu stated calmly.

"This building is rotting, and is probably scheduled for demolition very soon. That would explain the smell." Onyx replied with confidence. There was no cause for alarm, the human and Clan-Clan probably set a few trip wires around, and were probably hold up in one of the rooms upstairs, with all the guns they had pointed at the door. Like it would do them any good.

Camu gave Onyx the silence hand signal, meaning that the only way to catch them both alive, would be to catch them both by surprise. He gave another signal to activate the counterweight system on each of their belts, a system designed to dampen noise by making them lighter. They both drew their carbon knives, and crouched low to begin the room cleaning procedure. They fell into line and crept through the bottom floors one by one, boots barely making any noise as the counterweight system did its work. The noises of the city were muffled by the thin walls of the apartment building as the two rookie Guri-Guri scanned each room. The tiny strands of fur that lined the back of Camu's neck stood on end.

_This is not right. Its too quiet._

They finished the first floor, so it was time to hit the stairs. If there were no traps on the first floor, then they would definitely be in the stairs and the second floor. Camu followed Onyx slowly to the stairwell that led up to the buildings upper floors. Onyx peeked up the stairwell. He then flashed the all clear sign, and quickly but quietly scaled the stairs. Camu turned around and scanned the eyed the bottom floor one last time in case anyone had decided to jump them from behind, then fell in step behind Onyx once again. The scents of the Clan-Clan and the human were much more pronounced here then out in the lobby. _Yes, they' most certainly are in this building. _Onyx thought as he mentally prepared himself for the inevitable counterattack. With each step, he imagined how many different ways he could rend them both before they begged for mercy. He didn't care how potentially dangerous Hawking was, he was still only human. And because of the trouble his older friend caused, he was going to make sure that the young human would cry out in agony before the darkness subsided.

Camu's mind however, was screaming at every step. Everything about this just felt wrong, but as he back-peddled up the second flight of stairs to cover their escape, he squelched his fears because he trusted his teammate too much.

Onyx followed the scent onto the second floor and down the hallway. The scent was getting stronger as the approached its focal point. Onyx could hear breathing as he got closer to their goal. _Room 205 this must be it. _Onyx thought as he gave his confirmation signal to Camu. He then circled around to the side and turned the knob as slowly as he could without making a sound. _Good its unlocked. _He then nodded once to Camu and burst into the room.

Inside, they were shocked to find the room empty, save for a few weapons cases and ammo cases on the floors. But the most curious site in the room was hanging there right in front of them. A standard green empire uniform was hanging from the ceiling next to a typical t-shirt favored by humans. The room was devoid of intelligent life of any kind.

"Well shit. I coulda sworn that they were in here, the used a fox-hunting trick to throw us off their trail. They even left a music player with looping breathing sounds to make us think that their in this room."

Camu had to admit, this Jim was a lot smarter then they gave him credit for. He managed to fool their senses, while simultaneously making their escape. He looked around to see if there was anything in the room that would give them any clues about where they had escaped too, but to no avail. He did see something peculiar on the wall next to the door though. A flashing green light on a tiny box glued to the area next to the doorknob.

_Oh SHIT!_

"ONYX ITS A TRAP WE GOTTA GET THE HELL OUTTA-"

But it was too late. Another large explosion broke the peace of Locus in the morning. They both tried in vain to jump through apartment 205's window to save themselves, but massive rubble and brick fell on top of them. Instantly knocking them both out, and trapping them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(&)

_"So what do we do now?"_

_"The scum-bag fled to Blue Heaven where he'll be safe from the likes of us."_

_"Not from me."_

_"Oh yeah that's right! Suzuka doesn't use guns like we do."_

_"He'll be no problem. I'll kill him in one stroke."_

Twighlight Suzuka walked to the edge of their ship where the personal shuttles were. She passed a Ctarl-Ctarl woman with short hair and emerald eyes. She was twirling a carbon knife between her fingers and breathing slowly. She stopped just as Suzuka reached the airlock.

_"So you're going." _She said.

_"Yes I am, Patience." _Suzuka replied.

The woman flashed her one of her rare smiles and gave a thumbs up. _"Then watch your ass out there you hear?" _she said in an overly friendly way.

Suzuka simply returned her statement with a bow, and entered her shuttle. _"We'll have some tea with the guys once you get back with his head!" _She yelled.

(&)

**BOOM!**

Suzuka was jerked back to reality from her daydream by a loud explosion in the distance. Suzuka, Melfina, and Gene were all in steel restraints to keep them from moving, so it was difficult to sit up from their sitting position next to the hotel wall. However Suzuka could hear Patience yelling into her radio to try and get some response from her fallen teammates.

"Respond dammit! Camu this is Patience, what the hell happened! Onyx! Say something!"

"Its useless comrade." Suzuka said matter-of-factly.

Patience turned off her communicator and walked over to where Suzuka was and squatted in front of her.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Patience asked in an unusually calm voice.

"Why did you betray us?" Suzuka asked.

"I betrayed _no one._" Patience said frowning. "I was working for someone else the whole time. I thought you were smarter then that."

"You're teammates are dead."

Patience scoffed at Suzuka's remark. "Not possible."

"I can assure you that it most certainly is." Changing her tone into a haughty one. "Your teammates simply underestimated Jim Hawking. Thats all I can say." Suzuka wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but hearing a large explosion, followed by a blackout in communication could only mean that Jim had come up with a plan, and had exacted sweet revenge in her stead.

Patience was fuming however. She couldn't stand it when people had such smug looks on their faces. Now, without realizing it, she lost three teammates for something that was supposed to be simple. She didn't like the thought that she might have to leave Gene and his companions behind and go assist Camu and Onyx.

_If they were still alive._

No! That kind of thinking was dangerous! She quickly silenced her thoughts of doubt and begun barking orders at her remaining squad. She nearly finished when her communicator sounded with Levinas's familiar bark.

"Patience. You and the rest of your squad are to remain on standby until further notice. I have sent the drop-ship to the last position Camu and Onyx's counterweight system was detected. Failure to comply would result in your immediate and swift execution. Levinas out."

Suzuka watched the exchange with relative interest. She fought back a very big urge to crack a small smile.

But Patience was now _furious, _every single visible muscle that she had tensed and bulged. She clenched her teeth revealing her now longer and sharper fangs.

She finally spoke up in a lowered voice to Suzuka: "Maybe you're right. Maybe he did kill them, and quite frankly 'Twilight' I don't care. You and your damn friends have caused enough trouble for me for one night."

With that she tore off into the night to follow the scent of her two subordinates, who most likely were dead. The other members of her team were at a loss at what to do.

Seeing this as her opportunity, Suzuka broke her restraints by channeling ki, and quickly knocked out both the bewildered ctarl-ctarl. She removed the restraints from Gene and Melfina. Gene was still unconscious though.

"Gene! Wake up Gene!" She said smacking him on the face.

"What...what...what is it. I was having a good dream." He said groggily.

"Come on! James and Aisha are in trouble, we have to help them!"

That was all Gene had to hear. He stepped over the unconscious Ctarl' and grabbed his confiscated weapons. "Come on. We'll go pick up Jim and Aisha and get the hell off this planet!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jim, Aisha, and a now awake Don watched from a safe distance as the old apartment building completely collapsed after a very loud and powerful explosion, crushing the two Ctarl foolish enough to fall into Jim's trap. He thanked both God, Jesus, and Bhudda that his plan worked.

"That was amazing!" Don whistled in admiration.

"When you're as experienced as I am, things like this come naturally."

"See you can't help but love this guy." Aisha said tousling Jim's hair. "So what's the plan now?"

"Well, they're gonna send reinforcements, we can't get off scott-free after a stunt like that." He said turning around and gathering his things.

Don looked back at the wreckage of the building with a pleading look in his eyes. "How long do you think it would take for reinforcements to arrive?"

"20 minutes at the most."

"Do you think we can take him out and get off this planet in that time?" He said pointing back at the rubble.

Jim looked around to see the object of Don's scrutiny. Now, there were few things in the universe that could withstand being crushed by thousands of tons of rubble and still live. Ctarl-Ctarl were not one of the things in the universe that could withstand such punishment. Although Aisha said she was immortal, Jim knew better. Ctarl-Ctarl can be killed just like any other race in the galaxy. It just took more to kill them then a human.

_No way_

There , like out of some twisted _nightmare, _walked one of the Guri-Guri. Jim was truly at a loss at what to do. Even Aisha was shocked. Only momentarily mind you.

She stood from where she was sitting and dusted herself off. "Jim, Don, you both take a seat and just watch."

"But-"

"Uh-uh." She said immediately silencing the young outlaw. "Aisha's a big girl who can take care of herself. Besides Jimmy, you've had a little bit too much excitement for one day."

Jim wanted to say more, to at least talk her out of it, to at least go help her, but it was no use. Aisha turned around and flashed him a toothy grin, and gave a thumbs-up, imitating the manner in which Jim often did when he said everything was okay. She then ran towards her opponent.

"That was a pretty good trick, you know. Making that building fall on top of me and my comrade." The survivor said in a hushed tone.

Aisha sized him up. He looked pretty bad, but then again who wouldn't look bad after a building fell on you? His right arm was covered with painful looking burns, and his face was smeared with blood. His left ear was ragged and bleeding, showing that he probably had difficulty hearing. Aisha would exploit that.

"I must admit, you guys are the most dangerous bastards I've faced since I was chosen. Consider that a compliment." He said with confidence. "But you've got another thing coming if you think a tiny explosion and a little rubble can stop me."

"It stopped your partner."

"So it did, but Onyx was careless. I however am not as weak, or as stupid." Without another word, he launched at Aisha with full fury. He unsheathed his carbon knife from his shoulder and swiped at her face. Aisha simply dodged and followed through with several punches to his midsection. Camu was not affected by her punches as he spun to pick up momentum for his next swipe. Aisha dodged that as well and swung a hard side kick to his kidney. Camu winced in pain as she did so. Aisha, seeing the extra pain that he was in, continued to pound his aching side.

"How bout this you bitch!" He yelled as he grabbed her and threw her towards pillar. The pillar fell on top of her, but caused little damage. She used her strength and simply pushed it off. "That was low woman." He said recovering.

"You come from halfway across the galaxy and attack us in our sleep, and you call us low?"

His reply was a roar and a charge. Aisha was taken aback by his sudden surge in speed; she tried to dodge as he swiped his knife at her abdomen, but she wasn't fast enough. Without her empire uniform to give her at least some minor protection. She barely noticed the red liquid slowly dribble down her body, but she noticed it. She felt her side and brought it up to her face to confirm her wound. "It's gonna take a lot more then that to take me down."

Camu, completely unnerved by Aisha's taunt, was wearing a superior smirk on his face. "What are you looking so smug about dog? You only got a scratch on me."

"You know I thought you could fight better then this, but you don't even know that you've already lost."

"What the hell are you talking...about...you.. " Her vision blurred. Great just great. That was two careless mistakes that she made in less then two days time. _Shit! I've been poisoned! I can still beat him though. I hope. I just hope Jimmy and Don have the brains to stay outta this._

But as to confirm Aisha's fears, there he was right there, with his knife drawn. If she was any other person, he would appear to be quite the knight, but she wasn't. They weren't up against typical bounties and pirates, they were up against the galaxy's best. _Idiot! Dumbass! HUMAN! I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THIS ANY MORE! _She tried to scream, but only moans and grunts escaped her lips. She watched helplessly as Jimmy ran to his almost confirmed doom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So the human has come. Listen kid, I don't wanna hurt you unless I have to, so why don't you just turn around and walk away." Camu said dismissing Jim as a non-threat.

"She's my comrade and my friend. You know I can't do that." He said in a bold voice.

"So be it."

Jim silently thanked Gene for leaving good weapons at their cache before they left. High calibur guns and super-dense carbon-steel knives were just some of the weapons that he grabbed. He didn't have the strength that Aisha did, but if he swiped at the right places, he could make even a Ctarl-Ctarl bleed.

They both then entered their respected stances. Jim made the first move as he closed the distance between them and started slashing at anything that would draw blood. Anticipating this, Camu simply backhanded Jim across the face and sent him spiraling to the ground.

"You see? Weak humans like you don't stand a chance against the likes of us. Just give up and let us take her." He said pointing at the limp Aisha.

Jim replied by getting up and spitting out blood and a dislodged tooth. "You know what? I actually rehearsed a little speech that I had for just this kind of fight. But you know what? I can't remember it. But I will say this: don't think I'm weak, and don't underestimate me." _God I sound like Gene now. _

Jim charged again, and tried to slash his knife and release the blood from its fleshy cage. Camu tried to backhand him again, but Jim ducked and unleashed a sweep kick to knock him off his feet. It worked, but Camu just grabbed Jim by the leg, and they both hit the pavement. Sensing a suplex, Jim primed a flash-bang, and prepared for the worst. Sure enough, Camu reached under Jim's leg and put his left leg across his stomach, and started applying pressure. Within seconds, he was under excruciating pain. Jim closed his eyes, and tossed the flash-bang in the air. It exploded and achieved the desired affect. Camu immediately released Jim and clutched at his eyes. He let a loud and deafening roar. Jim, seizing the initiative, un-holstered his .50 calibur special, and tried to shove it into Camu's mouth.

Camu must have sensed this, because he mechanically swiped at was whatever was above him. Jim was caught by surprise and was raked across the chest by his dull claws. Jim rolled out of the away from him and tried to stand, but was greeted with immense pain to his chest. Camu got up. "You're right I shouldn't have underestimated you." He said rubbing his eyes. "But I've been through wor-" He was cut off as his vision came back just in time for him to see an HE grenade hit him in the face and exploded.

Camu was blown completely off his feet and was knocked into the air. He flew thirty feet and hit the ground and rolled to a stop next to the rubble. "You DAMN KID! I'M GONNA RIP YOU TO SHR-" The rest of the his sentence was muffled as the long barrel of Jim's .50 special was pointed deep into Camu's mouth.

"Die." He muttered as he pulled the trigger.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Patience arrived just as Jim pulled the trigger on his gun, and ending Camu's life. She stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes switched back at the human who ended her comrades life, and her comrade in rapid succession. The next moment was a blur as she closed the distance between her and the human. With almost lightning quick action, she kneed Jim in the ribs, knocking him off his feet. Jim rolled backwards and tried to regain his footing, but Patience was too fast. She delivered a side kick to his midsection which caused him to roll backwards again. He struggled to get up, but his strength and stamina finally gave out. He just laid there and waited for the end.

"JIM!" Don yelled as he ran towards the woman. He pulled out his gun and started firing. She simply ignored him. _This human. I will make this human suffer! Suffer FAR MORE THEN CAMU DID! SUFFER!_

She started kicking him as he was down. Each kick detaching him further from reality. He decided to count them until he lost consciousness.

_One, two, three..._

He apologized to Gene for not looking out for himself, and not thinking this one through enough.

_four, five, six..._

He apologized to Don for putting himself in such danger before he was even properly shown around the ship.

_seven, eight, nine..._

He apologized to Hannmyo for not living twice as much for the both of them, now that he knew that she was dead.

_ten, eleven, twelve..._

He apologized to Aisha most of all for making her worried, and for not enjoying the times better when she was around.

The pain started to go away. The sights and sounds of Locus started to go away. Everything started to go away. The last thing he remembered was hearing a deep voice order this barbarian of a woman to stop.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"That's enough Patience! Men Detain her and Clan-Clan!" Levinas yelled. The rest of the Guri-Guri had an extremely hard time restraining Patience. Screaming and kicking, she tried in a vain effort to end the young outlaw's life. Don tried his best to keep them from taking Aisha, but he was easily overpowered by superior strength and numbers. He was disarmed, cuffed, and tossed aside.

"Put her in the back, and restrain her, this poison that Camu used will only last for a few more minutes."

"Yes Sir!" They barked in reply.

Aisha heard all of this. She heard every blow that Jim took for her, and every bone that cracked, and every moan of pain that escaped his lips. She wept one final tear as she was taken from her life as an outlaw, and as she was taken from her best friend.

Chapter 8: End

_So what did you guys think? I know its been a while, but I have not stopped working on my fanfic. This chapter as a matter of fact, has gone through several revisions. And also in typical fashion, it was originally supposed to be longer. Go figure. But I felt like I had to finish this before I got back on Elfen Lied, which by the way I'm having major trouble with. Its going to end much sooner then I end this fanfic unfortunately. _

_Here's a preview:p_

_Everyone in Starwind & Hawking leave Sentinel-3 battered broken and humbled. Jim finally breaks down from everything that has happened so far, and takes it out on Gene. Suzuka decides to reveal what her past is with Patience, and Don comes to a realization in just what he has gotten himself into. But all is not lost: the files that Jim looted from the Kyubi can now be opened. Thanks to the almost impeccable timing of their so-called 'time-released lock'. What secrets does this information hold? Can it help them? _

_Next time on Outlaw Star: True Strength Comes from the Heart;_

_Chapter 9: New Direction, New Foes._

_Don't miss it:D_


	9. New Direction New Friends

DISCLAIMER: See the first one. I do not own Outlaw Star. All its prospective characters and crap belong to Bandai.

_Okay. 5 months late. Wanna know why it took so long? Because I didn't want to take the story into an angsty whinefest with Jim as the central character. So after going back and rewriting it from the ground up, I'm proud of the result. This chapter is that result. I know it's been almost a year since my last update, and this chapter is long overdue. SO without further damage to your squiggly-sqwooches, here is the next chapter of True Strength comes from the Heart._

Chapter 9: New Direction. New Friends.

Outer space travel is quite difficult for those who do not own their own vessel. In the third great space age of Man, many people in the inner and outer worlds not fortunate enough to own their own ships have to resort to other means to travel the stars. One particular and popular method is the official way: a passenger ship. Privately owned by the Spiral Organization, and sponsored by the Federation, it ships billions of passengers all over the Milky Way.

They are affordable and economical, allowing for even the poorest of individuals to enjoy the ability to travel. And it's good for Spiral because it means they always have business, and they always turn a profit every cycle.

Of course _cheap _and _economical_ means that every ship is only kept in the shape to keep it running. Many of Spiral's ships face frequent health and safety violations. And in order to turn out a profit, they are frequently jammed with passengers (often far moreso than what is considered safe). Seats are an unnecessary cost to Spiral, so most of the vehicles they use are converted cargo ships with large storage bays. Pirates often ignore them because most of the people who use such low brow transportation and cannot afford anything other then the clothes on their backs.

On the space passenger liner, Dhammerung, a lone figure sits mostly keeping to himself. He is cloaked in simple brown garb, covering most of his body and face. The other passengers kept him at a poll's length. "Anyone who looked suspicious was probably a dangerous person" the idea born out of strife and bitter reality. Out on the rim, one simple mistake could lead to the death of a careless traveler.

The shrouded passenger just happened to be a gentle soul, a genius with a long golden mane of hair. A _human_ lamenting over his new mission after his recovery in the hospital on Sentinel-3 .

_Head to the 2nd moon of Epsilon-3, there you will find people who can help you. Mention my name, and they will advance your cause._

Yes, the very same human, 14 years of age, who fought with Gene over the bills perpetually. The human who brought thoughts of ecstasy to Fred Lou at his passing, and the very same human who had a special place in the crew who maintained the Outlaw Star.

But most importantly, the human who was the host to Doppleganger, a mysterious entity that somehow knew how everything was going to turn out before hand.

He had planned ahead, that much was clear. Jim had not known that the events over 2 months ago, had all been meticulously plotted in detail, to accept wide margin of error and to accommodate every possible outcome and shortfall. He had poured over all the data like a fine toothed comb, taking in every detail like a ravenous starved creature. The diary on the other hand, was a different creature entirely.

It contained hundreds of thousands of entries. Jim could spend his whole life trying to study John's diary, and he wouldn't even scratch the surface. So instead of reading every one since the beginning, he decided to just skip around. One of the things that Jim noticed, was that he actually started writing at a specific point in his life, when he was still coming to terms with his true nature.

**03.7.2482-0700ET**

**Can I still live like this? I've been running away ever since humanity started to expand its influence. All of my pursuers are dead. I had no idea I wasted so much time trying to do it though... How come I'm so important to them? I can't stand using this...I'm not a human, that I established a long time ago. My memories are fragmented, but I was...at one time.**

**09.10.2874-2200ET**

**The war is over, and even though they say "Cease Fire", it's clear that humanity has won through excellent battlefield tactics. I've experienced it all. The pain, the sorrow's, the joy...When this is over this host will be heralded as a hero.**

**I have altered his memories to compliment it.**

**These experiences have changed me. Maybe things aren't so bleak for the sons of Terra after all.**

His last few diary entries were a bit of a mystery though.

**22.4.3102-0930ET**

**Who is this man? I have never seen him before... With the way he speaks, I'd say he's from the one of the lower royal houses. Clan-Clan maybe...? He's made me an intriguing offer...I shall meditate on this.**

His eyes widened at the mention of Clan-Clan. So another is influencing their actions behind the scenes? This is even bigger then what he originally thought. A relative to Aisha offered something to John... but what?

**23.4.3102-1900ET**

**Things are so different now. Cyrus thinks I may not be ready for this...But I am. I'm not content with just watching and intervening at my leisure any more. **

The diary ends there. Judging by his final entry, Jim came to a bitter and chilling conclusion: that John wanted death, and through this boss... he achieved it.

_Looking back on it... it all makes sense now. His ego and intellect... he just felt tired. _

Jim knew it. Felt it even. And that weariness and sickening disgust with his nature drove him to the end. He wanted to die.

But even so, why at the hands of an outlaw as a common bounty contract? He'd ask Suzuka if he ever saw her again...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the other side of the of the cargo hold, another figure sat keeping to herself. A young woman close to the age of sixteen, her form covered in tattered navy space suit. Unlike the blond traveler, her hair was short and auburn in color, but not short enough to expose her half-ctarl ears.

_It looks like a full load out to the rim. The usual rabble is all gathered, except for him..._

_He looks suspicious... _

Over the course of their lengthy departure, she had developed a curiosity for the cloaked traveler. Being poor herself, she had no choice but to watch the other passengers go about they're business trapped on this crowded ship. From the child passing his time with a simple ball, to the poor woman muttering half-remembered chants and prayers in the corner. The aura of suspicion that the traveler seemed to give off easily overshadowed the gentle and nervous aura projected by the other passengers.

_I know he's up to no good. It's only a matter of time before he slip-_

"EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR NOW."

"Do what we say, or we **will** blow this ship to the Leyline."

She looked at the young traveler, half-expecting him to be behind this sudden turn of events.

...But he only complied with the hijacker's orders.

That could only mean one of two things. That he was somehow directing them and decided to play the role of an innocent... Or that he actually was innocent. (Further confirmation came when they confiscated his computer equipment.

"Guess I was wrong..." She said to herself.

"HEY YOU! WOMAN. GET THE HELL ON THE GROUND NOW" A foolish human ordered her .

_Hmph. I'll play your game for now. But I'll wait for the right moment and take um all out. Their guns can't hurt me anyway... _

"Hey... This one's pretty fine." _Oh no. You do NOT want to mess with me._

"Hey guys, mind if I have a little fun with her?" _ Idiot. I don't want to have to kill you. But if you so much as breath on me..._

"Oh yeah. Now that I'm up close... MMmmm. Those thighs...and that hair. I'm gonna enjoy this."

The next few moments went in painfully slow motion as an unintelligent human met an agonizing end: His ribcage shattered and caved in, crushing his internal organs by an uncharacteristically strong woman. His painful screams of agony horrified the passengers and shocked the other hijackers into a momentary state of confusion.

"What the hell..." One of them said as his hand twitched by his holster. "...She's a Ctarl-Ctarl." He said under his breath as he drew his high-caliber pistol from his hip. "FORGET ABOUT ALL THE OTHER SHIT MEN." He said grabbing a nearby passenger. "Ctarl-Ctarl you are outnumbered. Surrender now." He said pointing his gun at the head of a young woman. "Or I'll blow this woman's brains out."

"Hmph. I don't listen to cowards." She said glaring at him with two orbs of green fury.

"You don't get it do you? All we want is your belongings. And all we have to do is blow up the ship if we don't get them." He said pointing to his vest. "We have all the cards. These passengers have all decided to comply, why don't you? " He said jamming his gun inside her mouth. "Don't be a fucking hero!" His words reverberated with the ship's hull along with the pained screams of the hostage.

_Dammit. This complicates things. He's really gonna do it!_

"Ugh I really can't watch this any longer."

The hijackers barely saw it coming. In a less than a second after hearing a young male's voice, a blinding **flash** and loud **bang** filled the interior of the Dhammerung. Within seconds, two of his colleagues were immediately incapacitated. Another fired his weapon in several directions, injuring a man in his forties.

He didn't even scream when his neck was broken, severing his brain from his nervous system and from his conscious reality.

The last two suffered painful reminders of why outlaws are not to be messed with, as their kneecaps were shattered by the simple and old 9 millimeter pistol of the cloaked passenger.

Leaving the man with the hostage all alone, staring down the barrel of the very same gun.

"D-don't come any closer! Or I'll-"

"Don't gimmie that. You know, you really are stupid. " He said placing both hands on his gun. "For one, people don't hijack passenger liners anymore. If you just wanted the belongings, all you had to do was blow a hole in the hull and vent all the O2 out into space. That's how the pro's do it." He took a step closer. "-But no. You wanted theatrics. You wanted sadism." He glanced at the young crying woman. "You wanted people to suffer."

He took a step closer. "You weren't gonna use the bombs at all. Hell I'd be surprised if you did. But all I see from you now is fear... Fear of death."

_Who is this guy? _

"People only become suicide bombers if they're following a misguided ideal after they themselves have nothing to live for-" The man flinched at those words. "-but neither you or any of your fallen comrades follow such ideals. None of you were prepared to die. You just gambled on the fact that no one would fight back. Well-" He cocked his trigger. "- You must be new out here."

"BASTARD!" The final hijacker screamed as he threw the woman forward and aimed his gun squarely at the shrouded passenger. Two shots were heard on the rim that day. One grazed the shrouded passenger in the head, tearing his hood and instantly knocking him unconscious.

The other striking home, embedding itself in the forehead of the last hijacker and splattering a cocktail of blood and brains all over the fear consumed passengers behind him.

Amnelis, the half-ctarl, caught the last of the event after she recovered the use of her senses from that horrible weapon used by humans: flashbangs.

She ran to the young boy's side when the others were afraid to move. Dumbfounded that their lives were just saved by a young outlaw who put his life on the line selflessly.

"I need a doctor now!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

His head was swimming. He was conscious now, but only barely. Hushed and whispered voices could be heard around him.

_Where am I?_

Disorientation. Confusion. Massive headache. These are signs of head head trauma.

The voices were louder now.

Speaking of what they should do with _him_. Some of them were yelling. The yelling made his head hurt.

_Can't you be more considerate?_

"I say we put him out the airlock. Outlaws like him are nothing but trouble!"

"Stupid humans. Just like you to forget gratitude."

"He put the lives of all of us in _JEOPARDY_!"

"And what would you have done if that young woman was killed, Marx?"

"That only happened because the half-Ctarl stepped in. We could have just gave them what they wanted and-"

"And what? Let them take what they wanted? She was going to be raped!"

"DAMN HALF-CTARLS AREN'T HUMAN. SO WHY THE FUCK SHOULD I CARE?"

Amnelis looked away and held back her anger and tears. Now was not the time to let emotions show. The boy still needed her help.

"All I know is that he deserves our thanks. He saved our lives." She said very quietly. Almost as a whisper as she looked down at his face. His golden hair matted and bloody from his wound, now carefully dressed with several bandages and pads...

But she could see him stirring, as if he too wanted to escape the troubles of the hostile ungrateful souls of the Dhammerung.

He slowly opened his eyes to a blurry and unfamiliar setting. The ceiling of a ship. "..Where am I?" He managed a weak whisper.

A face became distinguishable among the harsh interior of the ship. A familiar face.

"Shh.. Don't talk. They want to kick us both out at the next port..."

"..Huh?"

She smiled "You're pretty good in a fire fight. I've decided to travel with you... You look like you could use the help." She moved a little closer and stroked his hair. "Besides you did a very good thing today. You not only saved an innocent's life, but everyone's on this ship. You should be proud."

"Aisha?" He said looking opening his eyes a little more.

"Aisha? Who's Aisha? My name's Amnelis." She said smiling.

His memory and feeling slowly came back to him as his mind played out what had happened to him only a half-hour ago. He tried to sit up, but was met with firm resistance.

"Slow down Outlaw. You've just been shot. Take it easy for a while." She said gently pushing him back down. "It's a rare sight to find such a tough-as-nails human out here. What's your name?" She asked pushing a makeshift pillow out of donated clothes and cushions under his throbbing head.

"It's James. James Hawking."

"Nice to meet you James. I have a feeling we'll be getting along just fine." She said smiling again.

He smiled back. He'd just made a new friend. And friends are exactly what he needed out here now that he left Gene and the others behind.

"Amnelis."

"Yes?"

"Call me Jim."

Chapter 9: End

Well I took a risk by doing this, but I like this better then my other idea. I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE DISAPPOINTED IN ME FOR TAKING TOO LONG OR FOR CHANGING THE STORY FROM THE PREVIEW, it's just I seriously think that this direction is for the better. There's still gonna be angst (he is that age you know) and you're still going to find out what Suzuka and Patience's pasts are. Only in the next chapter instead of this one! And it's gonna be a big one. :D

PREVIEW!

Starwind & Hawking is now only Starwind Co. As it's former members are stripped, Gene, Melfina, and Don struggle to make ends meet with just themselves. They can do nothing as Suzuka decides to follow after Jim when she discovers his destination.

But other potential enemies loom on the horizon. As recent events come to limelight, the Guri Guri are brought into the forefront of the media from their clandestine involvement on Sentinel 2 months ago. Overnight they turn into wanted criminals. With no where to turn and no one to trust, the fruit of the Ctarl-Ctarl's best have no choice but to join The Exiled. An organization made up of banished Ctarl-Ctarl. There's nothing secret about what they want either. The complete destruction and subversion of the Empire.

If all this is happening, then what does Jim hope to accomplish by going off on his own? Can he find enough answers and enough strength to save Aisha? And it might have been more then chance that Amnelis and Jim crossed paths. It may become clear, that their reasons for traveling alone may not be all that different from one another.

Next time on Outlaw Star: True Strength Comes from the Heart;

Chapter 10: If I had the Key's to the Leyline, I'd wish for a million dollars

Don't miss it:D


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